Shooting Star
by UltimateGameLoverGirl
Summary: After making a wish on a shooting star, Pirate King Luffy is sent back in time to redo his adventure and save Ace. Now with the mastery of Haki, skills of a Yonkou, and already knowing the Grand Line by heart, Luffy is determined to save his brother no matter what! TimeTravel!AU Smart!Luffy Strong!Luffy
1. A Wish Come True

**One Piece: Shooting Star**

**Summary: After making a wish on a shooting star, Pirate King Luffy is sent back in time to redo his adventure and save Ace. Now with the mastery of Haki, skills of a Yonkou, and already knowing the Grand Line by heart, Luffy is determined to save his brother no matter what! TimeTravel!AU Smart!Luffy Strong!Luffy**

**Hello! I am a girl who loves One Piece and since this is my first fanfiction, I decided to make it a good one! I always loved reading TimeTravel!AU stories, but for some reason they all take a long time to update or are pretty much discontinued. I decided that instead of waiting, I will create my own story and unleash my imagination upon the world!**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

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It was a quiet afternoon with Luffy and the rest of the Straw-Hat pirates relaxing at Raftel.

The seas were calm and crystal blue, the sun was bright and shining, the gentle breeze was shaking the native trees ever so slightly, and the warm sand wrapped like a blanket around the entire island. Just a year ago, Luffy had found the One Piece and survived the Navy's all-out attack. Many were killed during that great battle, but thankfully all of his allies had fought beside him to reign victorious and claim the One Piece.

That night, Luffy walked to the top of a cliff and gazed at the stars. They were twinkling in the night sky, as if living and he had always wondered if they were actually fairies. Of course, he had always gotten a giant bruise, courtesy of Nami, on the head for such ridiculous theories, but considering their adventures so far, the possibility might exist. Luffy longingly looked at the sky, and for a second, he thought he could see Ace smiling down at him.

Ace…. Luffy remembered his brother's sacrifice for him at the battle of Marineford: the great battle that took the lives of many. He had always wondered why it wasn't him that had died instead of Ace. Those regrets and despair nearly left him a broken man, but for the sake of his friends, he continued on. He was lucky to have Sabo at least. He couldn't even imagine the pain he would feel if both of his brothers had died.

"Ace….I will always be strong for you," said Luffy. "No matter what happens, I will never forget your sacrifice and your will to protect me."

The stars then seemed to slow down their twinkle, as if listening to his speech.

"I feel so lonely without you Ace, but I know that you are happy somewhere away from this cruel world."

The twinkling had now stopped. Everything was in complete silence.

"I-I wish…I wish there was some way to have saved you Ace. I miss you and there was so much I wanted to say to you. If there is any way that I could save you and relieve this empty feeling inside me, I would gladly sacrifice myself for you, just like you did for me."

Luffy glanced up at the stars as if expecting some sort of response. A fast white shooting star suddenly appeared across the sky and disappeared in an instant. But he saw it and had remembered the stories from Ussop of how when one saw a shooting star and made a wish with all their heart, that wish would come true. Even though Ussop was known for lying and making up stories, these were one of the rare times he would tell stories that were actually true. However, such occurrences were so rare that people would have called it fiction anyways.

Luffy closed his eyes and placed his hands over his heart chanting the same sentence over and over in his head:

_I wish I could have saved Ace._

Suddenly a bright white flash consumed him as the stars lit up everything in sight. Luffy shielded his eyes with his arms in an attempt to see through the blinding light, but his attempts proved futile. In the end, he had closed his eyes in anticipation for what awaited him next. When he thought the light would never end, everything suddenly became dark. Now there was no light at all, with only black as far as the eye can see. When he thought he was trapped in the darkness forever, he heard a voice.

"….uffy."

"Huh?" said Luffy as he searched everywhere for the source of the voice only to still see darkness.

"Lu….y."

The voice was getting clearer and louder now, but still only darkness surrounded him.

"Luffy."

The pirate king was getting desperate in an attempt to find the person calling his name as he tried to swim through the endless black space….

"LUFFY!"

He could see a small hole of light come up in his sight as he heard the voice everywhere around him while he swam faster towards it…..

"LUUUUUUUFFFFFYYY!"

In a second the light once again consumed Luffy, obscuring his vision. He felt lightheaded as he closed his eyes letting his consciousness slip and the light take him.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A seven-year old Luffy suddenly snapped his head up in surprise. He looked up at his surroundings with wide eyes, curious to see where the light had taken him. It was a bar filled with drunken pirates chugging down sake and a certain bartender staring at him with worried eyes. His eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"M-Makino?!" cried Luffy as he felt tears of joy at the sight of her.

"Oh! Luffy, your awake! We were beginning to think you weren't going to wake up when you suddenly fell asleep." Makino smiled warmly at him and continued wiping some glasses clean.

"Yeah, Anchor! You don't want to sink without going out into the ocean first!"

At the sound of the familiar new voice, Luffy immediately looked to his left and saw Shanks with his soon-to-be trademark straw hat on his head.

"Sh-Shanks!" sputtered Luffy as everything was slowly taking place before him. He was a kid again. Shanks still had his left arm, so this was before the bandits came and the sea king ate it. Garp hasn't left him at Dadan's to meet Ace and Sabo yet…..

Ace…

Luffy suddenly knew what was going on now. The shooting star granted his wish. He could save Ace!

"But why put me so far back and not simply at the battle of Marineford?" thought Luffy. He was so caught in his thinking; he didn't acknowledge Shanks and Makino's worried stares.

"Um, Luffy?" asked Makino. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, Anchor! How are you going to join my crew if you can't focus on the things around you?" laughed Shanks as he asked for some more food.

Luffy didn't have time to answer as the door swung open with Higuma, the evil bandit leader, walking inside. He glared at him, the man who tried to kill him as a child and tried to humiliate Shanks. Higuma slowly walked up towards the counter and asked Makino for ten barrels of sake.

"I'm sorry," said Makino. "But we're out of sake at the moment."

"Hmmm? Is that so? Then what is that those pirates are drinking over there? Is it water?" asked Higuma.

"All of them are drinking every last drop of sake." stated Makino. Luffy stared at the scene before him as memories of Higuma beating the crap out of him played in his mind. He then remembered Shanks being there for him and saving him from imminent death. A loud shatter of glass shook him from his thoughts as he saw the worst moment replay before him: Shanks was covered from head to toe in sake and small bits of glass from the broken bottle.

"Oh no…Now the floors all wet." said Shanks as he began to clean up the mess. Once again, Luffy watched in horror as the bandit unsheathed his sword and caused an even bigger mess by slashing the bottles on a shelf above Shanks. Anger was beginning to form in him as he was forced to watch the past. He couldn't reveal his strength yet; after all, he hadn't even eaten the Gum Gum Fruit. When Higuma finally walked out of the bar, the entire bar roared with loud laughter. Luffy grimaced at everyone, but kept his feelings hidden as he walked over to the box where his devil fruit power was kept in. Without hesitation, he ate the fruit in one gulp and almost threw it back up from the vile taste.

"Aaaah…I forgot the horrible taste devil fruits have!"

When Shanks noticed the devil fruit missing, Luffy pretended to be dimwitted again to avert suspicion.

"You idiot! You ate the Gum Gum Fruit so now you not only have the powers of a rubber man, but you can never swim!" shouted Shanks. He knew he was worried for him, but he could've been easier on shaking him upside down. After Shanks scolded him several times, Luffy went up to Higuma and was about to fight him outside. Luffy calmly waited for Shanks and his crew to show up so he could prove his strength in front of everyone. He almost laughed out loud imagining how Shanks would react to his inhuman strength. When everyone had finally arrived, Shanks appeared with his crew to beat up the bandit for trying to hurt Luffy. However, when Shanks finished making his grand speech about never forgiving anyone who hurt his friends, Luffy spoke:

"Friends are always worth more than any treasure. A bandit or pirate with no friends or allies will never succeed in anything." Everyone blinked. That was a surprisingly mature thing for the little boy to say, but their thoughts were abruptly cut off when said boy delivered a powerful Gum Gum Pistol right into Higuma's face sending him across the sky. Jaws hit the floor and the other bandits ran away screaming something about a monster child. Shanks was the first person to recover.

"Luffy! Where did you learn to control your powers so quickly?!"

"Shishishi! I didn't! I just hit him with everything I had to make him pay for what he did to you."

Shanks sighed and adjusted his hat.

"Well you sure proved that your punch really is as strong as a pistol!" Everyone nodded in murmurs of agreement as Luffy flashed his brightest smile. A short while after, The Red-Haired Pirates were making their leave until Luffy showed up to wave goodbye.

"I'll become the Pirate King, Shanks! I'll become stronger than you ever were!" He said while smiling as wide as he could. Shanks chuckled as he kneeled down to the seven-year old's current height. Then, the yonkou placed his straw hat on Luffy's head.

"This hat is dear to me. Promise me you will bring me back that straw hat when you become a strong pirate."

"I will Shanks! You just wait and see!"

After seeing the Red-Haired Pirates off, Luffy gently touched the straw hat on top of his head.

"I will become King of the Pirates," he said while looking towards the sky. "And this time, I will save Ace!"

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**FINALLY! IT'S DONE! This chapter had me up till 4:00 in the morning cause I kept redoing stuff and looking for spelling errors and stuff like that. I hope that this story wants you to read more cause I'm going to try to update daily and if not then weekly! I know that this is probably unoriginal because the time travel stuff is getting old, but at least you get one more time travel fanfiction to look forward to!**

**Thank you for reading and Enjoy!  
X3**


	2. Coby's Dream and Alvida's Demise

**Two chapters in one day! Even if this chapter is a bit short! More will certainly be coming soon so...**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

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It had been 10 years since Luffy's promise to Shanks. Ten years of a revisit to hell. Garp had unfortunately been told of his son's powers and how he sent an 8 million beri man skyrocketing with just one punch. To say the least, Garp was proud. After taking Luffy to Dadan's house of bandits and meeting Ace and Sabo, Garp gave them the training of a lifetime. Luffy was given special treatment; even as the pirate king he still feared his grandpa greatly. Luckily, with his fast reflexes and Observation Haki, he avoided any serious damage. Unfortunately, Ace and Sabo would knock him on the head in jealousy of his talents. Things seemed to go the same way except that Bluejam was knocked unconscious in one hit, Sabo was saved from the shipwreck explosion, and Ace and Sabo set out to sail at the same time. Thanks to Luffy's miraculous wish, he could save all his nakama and change the course of history itself. It would also be much easier to help his crew with their dreams since he already helped them before.

Luffy breathed in the salty air of the ocean as he drifted along the sea in his wooden barrel. Unfortunately, he forgot to prepare a boat again but nothing would really change, he was sure of it. When the whirlpool showed up, Luffy was prepared for it and hid underneath the contents of the barrel. To this day he still doesn't know how the sturdiness of the barrel survived a whirlpool. A loud chink of a hook on the barrel got Straw Hat's attention and he prepared himself to reenact his meeting with Coby. He could hear garbled noises and speech and saw the lid coming off. So he jumped up and-

"YAAAAAAAH! That was such a good nap!" Luffy punched the pirate on purpose and chuckled when he saw the poor guy hit the ground out cold. The others tried to attack with swords but failed miserably and were sent flying back. After that, Coby was left alone with the soon-to-be pirate king.

"So what's your name kid?" asked Luffy even though he already knew the answer. Coby had finally managed to become an Admiral after Akainu's crushing defeat by Luffy. Even though they were supposed to be enemies, he was still nice company.

"M-My name is Coby. What's your name?" asked Coby. He was shaking uncontrollably and staring at the three knocked out men on the floor.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be king of the pirates!" exclaimed Luffy with a huge grin.

"P-P-Pirate King?! NO! You can't POSSIBLY be the pirate king!"

Luffy narrowed his eyes.

"Why not?" Coby shifted underneath the intense gaze.

"B-Because no one has ever become Pirate King other than the man himself! You would have to have everything! Dreams don't always come tru-"

BONK!

"Oww! What did you hit me for?!" Coby said while sporting a brand new bruise on his forehead.

"Because…." Luffy began, "You were going to say dreams don't always come true, right? Well, you're wrong. I want to become pirate king because it's my dream and I'll fight for it."

Coby looked up and saw Luffy's eyes glazed in determination. He began to wonder whether or not this man would actually be able to reach his dream. With new found determination he stood up abruptly. Luffy glanced over at him.

"I-I want to become a marine! So I can catch criminals like Alvida!" Luffy smiled.

"You will be a great marine, Coby. Just remember: There are good marines and bad marines. Same with us pirates."

He was pleasantly surprised when Luffy gave him a thumbs up, encouraging him to go for it. That moment crashed and burned almost immediately when a giant appeared right behind poor Coby.

"AND WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CATCH COBY?!" bellowed a deafening voice. Coby paled and Luffy looked disinterested.

"Hey Coby….Who's this ugly hag?" Luffy asked with complete honesty. Time seemed to stop as everyone except the pirate king paled a pure white. Alvida burst into a vibrant red immediately after.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY BRAT?!" She seemed to force herself to calm down though.

"Coby….Who is the prettiest woman in the sea?" Alvida asked with forced kindness. Coby gulped and started to sweat. If he made the wrong answer, he would surely be killed. At the corner of his eye, he saw Luffy glance down at him expectantly. _'I can't become a marine if I can't be brave. I will fight for my dream!'_ Coby inhaled deeply.

"YOU ARE THE UGLIEST SEA WITCH IN THE ENTIRE OCEAN!"

Alvida's eyes bugged out, her henchmen fainted, and Luffy simply laughed.

"Haha! Good one Coby!" said Luffy while patting the cabin boy on the back.

"I'M GOING TO KILL THE BOTH OF YOU!" Alvida screamed while lifting up her iron club, ready to pound Coby's face in. He closed his eyes with tears flowing._ 'I have no regrets!'_

Luffy stopped laughing and suddenly disappeared, then reappeared in front of Alvida's face. With a powerful Gum Gum Pistol, he sent Alvida to the sky in one punch. When Coby opened his eyes and saw he was still alive, he was surprised to see Luffy standing where Alvida was a second ago.

"Now that she is taken care of, let's go!" With that, Luffy grabbed Coby's arm and jumped off the ship to land in a tiny boat with a certain thief in it.

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**Very short chapter indeed. But I assure you I will try my best to not procrastinate and/or lose inspiration to continue this fic. Even if I have only one Fav or Follow, it fuels me up enough to start making another chapter! X3**


	3. Freeing the Demon

**Hello again! I'm sorry this was about 10 min. late. (It's 12:10 am now =_=) I had some friends come over and hang out so I was kept busy. Anyways, I'll probably post the next chapter by the end of today then. As promised heres Shooting Star Chapter 3!  
**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

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"AAAH! Who the hell are you people?! Stay away from my treasure!" Nami screamed. Luffy laughed at Nami's reaction.'Same old Nami. I can't wait to beat up Arlong and have her rejoin my crew.' Coby was still a little shocked from his life and death experience judging from his ragged breaths and tightly clutched chest. After the introductions were made, Luffy asked Nami to take them to Shell Town so he could get his first mate/vice-captain back. She was confused at first but agreed nonetheless. When they had reached Shell Town, it was all silent except for people whispering to one another while staring at Luffy and Coby. Nami had quickly said goodbye and left only stating she had 'some business to take care of.'

Luffy began to walk through Shell Town ignoring all the unwanted attention the duo were getting.

"We shouldn't be here, Luffy! I heard that Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro was last seen here!"

"Pirate Hunter, huh? What's this Zoro guy like, eh Coby?" said the pirate king, even though he already knew the answer as they continued walking towards the marine captain tyrant's base.

"W-Well I heard he is so strong, people think he is a demon in human form."

"Sounds like my kind of crewmate!"

The marine base was now in sight and Luffy began to run with Coby right behind him. He was very excited to see his first mate and quickly ran up the ladder to see the young girl, Rika, trying to feed Zoro some rice balls. Then Helmeppo came. Despite knowing he would be a good friend of Coby's in the future, Luffy couldn't help but glare at Helmeppo. Here, Helmeppo was back to being a spoiled rich kid with a stupid haircut, but with time he would see the error of his ways. Luffy's glare intensified when said brat began to stomp on Rika's rice balls. Coby nearly fell off the wall right then and there at the shock of seeing a marine treating a citizen so poorly.

'A little girl no less!' thought Coby. Eventually Helmeppo stopped stomping on the dirt balls and ordered one of the soldiers to hurl Rika over the wall. Reluctantly, the marine complied and Rika was sent flying only to land in an outstretched hand. Luffy put Rika to the ground gently with the little girl sparing a small 'thank you' in return. Looking back, they saw Helmeppo kick Zoro a couple times and leave. The pirate king had to use all his willpower to restrain himself from jumping onto the blonde spoiled brat and punching his ugly face in.

"Thank you both!" Rika said with a smile. "I'm Rika."

"I'm Luffy, the soon-to-be pirate king. This little guy here is Coby." The 'little guy' pouted but offered a friendly smile in return. Rika nodded but then sighed.

"I was bringing rice balls to Zoro because he saved me from that mean blonde guy's wolf. I feel so bad that I'm to blame for his torture."

Luffy glanced back at Zoro and stood on the wall.

"I'm going to go save him. Wait here." Rika and Coby nodded as they watched Luffy jump off the wall just to land perfectly on his feet. He approached the demon slowly and watched as Zoro glared at him in return.

"What do you want kid?" He said in a hoarse, raspy voice. Luffy just smiled.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the pirate king!" He said brightly. "Hey, wanna join my crew?"

"Tsk. Sorry, but I'm not going to be some pirate." Zoro stated with a glare. Luffy pouted but then smiled even wider.

"Then, how about I get your swords for you? A swordsman without swords has no honor so you'll HAVE to join my crew!" When he was finished the swordsman blinked then sighed.

"Even if you did that, I have a promise to keep. If I survive for the rest of the month without food or water then the blonde guy will let me go." Luffy stared.

"You do realize that he won't keep his promise at all, right?" Zoro was getting tired of this kid. He closed his eyes then quietly eyed the mud balls on the ground.

"Hey. Can you feed me those rice balls on the ground?" Luffy grinned then picked up the sticky pieces of dirt.

"Sure! I'll tell her you thought they were delicious!" Zoro nodded then opened his mouth to chew the dirt balls and forcefully swallow it in one gulp. After he was done, Luffy jumped over the wall and found his two friends in the bar. Rika waved to Luffy and gestured him to sit down. She then told them both the full story about what happened to Zoro and how he saved her life from Helmeppo's pet wolf. Later, Helmeppo walked into the bar and gleefully shared how he was going to execute Zoro in three days before he could fulfill their promise. Luffy nearly lost all restraint and punched the blonde brat in the face leaving a bloody mush of it. The next day, Luffy visited Zoro again and this time he told him what he heard from his encounter with Helmeppo yesterday.

"WHAT?! That spoiled little ass…" Luffy shrugged.

"I told you didn't I?" Zoro glared at the tower longing to use his swords to slice it apart.

"You know, I'll take you up on your offer." He said. Luffy gazed at the tower and grinned.

"Awesome! I'll go get your swords!" And with that, he sent a Gum Gum Rocket towards the tower, completely ignoring Zoro's shocked look. When Luffy arrived, he side-kicked the statue of Morgan, breaking it in half. The man himself looked enraged beyond compare and ordered all of his men to attack the pirate king. Helmeppo pointed while holding the giant bruise on his face made from his dad.

"That's him, daddy! That's the brat who hit me!" Luffy rolled his eyes at the pathetic scene in front of him. Wanting no more than to complete his offer to Zoro, the pirate king quickly used Soru to rush into Helmeppo's room, grab the swords, and give them to the waiting demon. Looking out the window, he saw Coby attempting to untie his first mate. When Luffy reached them, he grabbed Wado Ichimonji and cut Zoro free with one slash.

"Yosh! Let's fight together First Mate!" Luffy said while pumping his fists into the air. Zoro smirked and unsheathed his swords while Coby stood back to spectate the fight.

"Aye, Captain!"

Just after, Morgan came bursting out of the tower entrance with his son and the marines by his side.

"SHOOT THEM ALL NOW!" He ordered with a look that looked like a cross between a raging bull and a tomato. The marines began to fire, but Luffy simply deflected them all with Armament. Morgan's face twisted into a look of confusion and fear while everyone else simply gaped at the new ability. The frustration soon returned to him as he charged towards Luffy with his axe hand ready to cut him in half. Luffy stayed where he was, then used a Gum Gum Bazooka to smash right through Morgan's axe and send him crashing into the tower. A moment later, the marines all shouted with glee as they threw their hats up into the air in celebration of their freedom from the tyrant. Zoro finished staring at Luffy then spoke.

"I know I promised to follow you, but I have a dream to be the world's greatest swordsman. If you interfere with my dream in any way," He paused to point his sword at Luffy. "I will end your life."

With a wide grin, the captain nodded then began to walk towards the marine commander, Ripper.

"Hey you." Luffy said while pointing at the marine. "Do you mind if you can take these two to train and become marines?" He said while pointing at Coby and Helmeppo. Ripper stared at the two for a second before answering.

"As gratitude for defeating Morgan and saving us from his reign, we will do as you ask just this once."

Coby's eyes widened in excitement while Helmeppo's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Th-Thank you, sir!" Coby said with a bow. Then he turned to Luffy.

"Luffy….I can't tell you how grateful I am to you. Thank you so much for helping my dream become a reality!" Luffy smiled and patted Coby on the head.

"Shishishi! You're welcome!"

With that, he and his swordsman walked to the bar and ate till they were full. 'Luffy only stopped because the bar ran out of food.'

With a final salute, Coby and the rest all bid farewell to the pirate duo. Along the way to the next island, where Nami was sneaking about, Zoro and Luffy were laying around, starving. The captain had eaten all the food at the bar so there was none left to pack. While they were moping about, a giant bird appeared in the sky. Luffy immediately looked at the bird hungrily and thought, 'Perfect timing!' With a Gum Gum Rocket, he crashed into the bird, and held onto its beak. Zoro stared at his new captain and face palmed. When the bird approached the island they were heading towards, the swordsman began rowing at an inhuman speed, completely ignoring three Buggy pirates who were stranded in the ocean. Unbeknownst to Zoro, they managed to grab a hold of the boat with the demon muttering something about lifting more weights when he got off. In the middle of the town, Luffy could see Nami being chased by three more Buggy pirates with a giant bag of loot in her hand. Laughing, he jumped off the giant bird, just before it got hit with a cannonball, and crashed into the ground right in the middle of the chase. Everyone stopped what they were doing to check on the stranger who fell from the sky, and thought he had died. When Luffy had gotten up, dusting himself off like nothing had happened, he grinned when he saw Nami's facial expression.

"Shishishi! Hey Nami," he said. "Nice to see you again."

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**Yeah...It's a lot shorter than I thought it would look... It's a few hours of my time each chapter yet they are over 1,000 words...I'm not a big fan of this part so it might take longer than I will expect. Well hope you enjoyed this chapter! Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**


	4. Beating Up Buggy

**Sorry I was late with this one! I had a friend over at my house so stories may be delayed from time to time. I understand some of you want the story to get to the point and skip the fillers but I'm trying my best to make it seem like Luffy's actually having an accurate adventure again. Also my friend says 'Hi!' **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

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Silence was all that could be explained. No one spoke a word. Finally, Luffy spoke up while casually picking his nose.

"So. How's it going Nami?" The thief stared and wondered how this kid was still alive. _'It's that boy from before. Maybe I can use him to stall these pirates and let me get away with the treasure.'_ With a mischievous smirk, she patted Luffy on the shoulder.

"Nice work, boss. I'm glad you dropped in at the right moment to save me!" Luffy rolled his eyes as he watched Nami scurry away. That was when the three pirates shook out of their confusion and growled at Luffy. They all charged at the same time and raised their swords. The pirate king simply slapped them away with a Gum Gum Whip and began to run to where Nami was hiding, secretly watching the battle from afar. He greeted her with a smile and asked for food while the thief sweat dropped. After a delicious meal, which was finished in three seconds, Luffy looked to Nami while she was thinking of another plot to use him. He smirked knowing her plan.

"You know, since I'm here, I could beat up the pirate terrorizing this town. If I beat him in one hit, will you join my crew?" Nami looked at him skeptically but looked to the ground, thinking of the possibilities. Luffy sighed. He looked up again with a bored expression.

"If I put you in charge of all the treasure he has along with all the other pirates that come along, will you join?" Suddenly, Nami's eyes turned into golden beri signs as she nodded her head furiously at the renewed offer. A couple moments later they emerged out of their hiding spot to trick Buggy, and then loot him. Luffy was bound by rope with Nami holding the end. When they had walked on top the pirate ship, they were immediately greeted with swords and guns to their face. She sweat dropped a little as she asked to see their captain. Then, the duo heard footsteps and saw none other than Buggy the pirate walk out. He had on his usual grin, but lost it when Nami suddenly handed him his map back.

"Huh? Why are you giving me my map back when you went through all that trouble to get it?" He asked, suspicious.

"Well, it's because my boss here," she pointed to Luffy who was attempting to wriggle free of the ropes, "Is a weak and useless idiot. So I decided I would betray him and join you!" She finished with a bow. The clown pirate blinked, but then began laughing.

"So that's it then? Great! I'll let you be a part of my crew. This calls for a celebration!" The Buggy pirates cheered loudly as everyone began laughing, dancing, and eating. Luffy was locked up in a cage for all he was worth and waited patiently for Zoro to come bail him out. While he was just sitting there, Nami had begun to start her backstabbing Buggy plan. She was about to open Luffy's cage when suddenly Buggy asked her to come watch a demonstration of the power of a Buggy Bomb. When they had fired it, Nami watched in horror as she saw the remains of houses and trees that were in line of fire. Luffy still sat there, perfectly calm.

"AND NOW," Buggy said as he pointed the cannon towards Luffy. "WE WILL FLASHILY END YOUR LIFE!" He then handed the match to Nami.

"Nami! Prove your loyalty to me by killing your stupid excuse of a boss. You said yourself that you never liked him anyways, so this should be quick!" Nami was frozen in shock as she began to tremble in fear. The Buggy pirates were soon getting confused as to why Nami had stopped. Buggy himself was getting extremely impatient.

"Well?! Are you going to just stand there or are you going to shoot him?!" He demanded, face getting red. For a second, she saw Luffy smiling at her and passively waving his hand. 'Why is he still so calm?!'she thought. Gulping she decided to put her trust in Luffy since he was shown to be strong when he beat up those three pirates. With that, the fire was lit and the Buggy Ball exploded leaving the cage torn open with Luffy nowhere in sight.

"**LUFFY!**" A demonic voice shouted that brought some of the pirates to their knees in fear. Unfortunately, Zoro had just found his way to the Buggy pirates' ship and had seen Nami blow up his captain. With a red tint in his eyes, making him look all the more menacing, he turned to look at the once again frozen Nami. Her eyes looked hollow as she didn't even see Zoro's deadly aura.

"**You…You're going to pay!**" That was when Nami had shaken out of her stupor and prepared to run like the wind until a certain pirate's voice resounded through the air.

"Awesome! Now I'm free from the cage. Thanks, Nami!" Luffy gave a thumbs up to an almost fainting Nami and a smile to the demon.

"Hey, Zoro! Great you found your way here! Did you get lost before?" He said with a smirk. The demon just glared and the deadly aura had faded. The Buggy pirates let out a breath they didn't know were holding in and Nami cautiously made her way to Luffy's side. A growl snapped all their attention to Buggy.

"You…HOW DID YOU SURVIVE?!" He asked completely baffled. Luffy looked away and started to sweat drop.

"Because the cannonball….missed?" In truth, Luffy simply took the hit and, because of his rubber abilities, he was able to stay in one piece. No one bought the horrible excuse. Buggy just got pissed off instead.

"GRAAAH! KILL THEM, MEN!" He ordered. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro had run off while Buggy's henchmen were snapping out of their confusion. They had ran for a while and were hiding in the middle of an alleyway. When they thought they were safe, a lion with greenish fur and purple mane walked up with his tamer riding on top of him. 'Weird-hair guy and his pet.' Luffy thought. There was no use in hiding so he and Zoro popped out to fight him while Nami stayed to watch. The fight ended very quickly as Zoro held off the claws of the lion while Luffy kicked and punched Mohji and his pet to outer space. Eventually though, they landed creating a huge crater. When the Strawhat pirates had moved on, Luffy gave up searching for Buggy and screamed as loud as he could:

"OI! UGLY CLOWN WITH THE GIANT RED AND HIDEOUS NOSE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" The answer was immediate as Buggy sent dozens of Buggy Balls towards them while screaming in rage. Luffy used Gum Gum Balloon to send them all back to their owner at twice the speed and Buggy's enraged look changed to a horrified one in seconds as the clowns got blown away and onto the ground. Nami was covering her mouth while Zoro stared.

"What are you?!" She asked. Luffy grinned and held out a peace sign.

"I ate the Gum Gum Fruit. So now I'm a rubberman. See?" He demonstrated by stretching his mouth to inhuman lengths. This just made Nami even more scared. 'What monsters have I just joined?!' As Buggy and some of his crewmates dug out of the debris, Cabaji decided to go in for a slash at Luffy. Just as he was about to attack, Zoro intervened.

"You're a swordsman too, huh? I guess I'm going to be your opponent then." The battle was one sided between the two as Zoro had no trouble deflecting projectiles at all until the unicyclist decided to breathe fire on Zoro, surprising him and almost burning him. Instead of melting, his swords got heated up which gave Zoro a painful advantage. Grinning like a maniac, he swung his blazing swords at Cabaji who had made sure to not get hit and distance himself. _'He really is a demon. Just like the rumors told.'_ the unicyclist thought. When the swords cooled down, Cabaji decided to use his final attack and to make sure it hit, Buggy tried to use his Chop Chop Fruit powers to hold Zoro down until it was stopped by Luffy.

"This isn't your fight, Buggy. Don't sink so low." Luffy said while holding Buggy's struggling hand before returning it. The clown growled and continued watching the fight. The final attack was completely dodged by Zoro and on the last moment, he took that opportunity to finish it.

"Oni Giri!"

Cabaji paled as his eyes went blank and he blacked out, falling off his sliced up unicycle. With Zoro's battle done, Buggy was the only one left. Luffy promised Nami that if he could beat the clown in one hit (and have his treasure) she would join the crew. _'Temporarily.'_ He added as an afterthought. The fight commenced when Buggy went in for an attack with his floating hand, holding a knife. With a nimble dodge, Luffy evaded it effortlessly. The same thing happened over and over until Buggy got pissed off and decided to use his hidden Buggy Ball from his pockets. This time Luffy used Gum Gum Balloon to send the Buggy Ball back and explode in the clown's face.

"That doesn't count as a hit, right?" Luffy said to Nami, but she was too busy counting the beri she stole from Buggy.

"HEY! THAT'S MINE!" In an attempt to grab his money, he tried to attack Nami, but was once again stopped by Luffy.

"Choose your fights wisely, Red Nose. Only one opponent until the end." Getting very mad, Buggy tried another pathetic attack with knives. Luffy was getting bored quickly and he might create a paradox if he stalled any longer.

"Gum Gum Bazooka!"

Buggy was too slow to dodge as the Haki-infused hit sent him flying and spitting out blood. With the Buggy pirates gone, the village was peaceful. Remembering his generosity of sharing the gold, he left one bag for their repairs. Nami of course whacked him on the head, but it didn't hurt at all for Luffy. After all, he was used to future Nami's hits and those were scary. Setting their course for the next island, Luffy smiled at the sight. When they landed on the island, they were interrupted by 'Captain' Usopp and his army of eighty million men. Seeing right through his lie, Luffy laughed.

"You mean all three of them, right?" He said.

"AAAH! HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" Usopp began to sweat tremendously as the little boys behind the bushes screamed and ran away. _'How did he figure it out so quickly?!'_ Nami and Zoro laughed as well at the obvious sign that Usopp lied. Preparing his slingshot, he tried to threaten them some more to scare them off.

"M-My skill with my slingshot is stronger than a pistol."

Luffy's hat then shadowed his eyes. Secretly, he was smirking on the inside.

"Now that you've mentioned pistols…Bet your life on it. It's not a tool to scare people, it's a tool to kill."

Zoro stared at Luffy then smirked, playing along. He unsheathed one of his swords so Usopp could see it was made of real metal.

"The one before you is a real pirate."

Usopp became even more terrified as he slowly let down his weapon. The liar sighed.

"As I thought, a real pirate's words are much more intimidating. C-Cool…." The captain and first mate glanced at each other then laughed.

"Those aren't my words, you know. I took them from someone I have deep respect for, Red-Haired Shanks." Ussop suddenly forgot about his fear and got excited from someone knowing Shanks personally.

"R-REALLY?! YOU KNOW SHANKS?!" Luffy smiled.

"Yeah and you're Yasopp's son right?" This time Usopp fell forward and landed unceremoniously on his back. He sat up and then immediately started to talk about his dad's stories. Groaning, Luffy asked for something to eat and Usopp led the crew to the restaurant.

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**Well It took a while but I finally finished it in one day. Also ,for those of you who noticed, Zoro is acting more merciless. I LOVE Demon Zoro where he goes insane and slices everything. Call me crazy but he just looks cool, I mean Oda gave him the nickname 'Demon of the East Blue' for a reason! Sooo yeah! Fav, Follow, Review and Enjoy! X3**


	5. A Trustworthy Liar

**Hello everyone! The fifth chapter is here! I know things are going fast but that is because Luffy is so strong that he beats up his enemies in one hit. I mean he IS the Pirate King in another time. Well, I'm glad everyone is kinda enjoying the pace this story is going cause I'm trying to make it go one crewmate to pick up and big villain to defeat per chapter. The only ones that will have multiple chapters might be Arabasta, Enies Lobby, and so on... **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

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In the restaurant, Usopp was chatting with Luffy about his father when he suddenly said he had to leave to see Kaya and that he would return later. With a nod, Luffy waved him goodbye and continued eating all the food. After he left, Usopp's crew, Ninjin, Tamanegi, and Piiman barged in the restaurant and asked to know where their captain was. Luffy patted his now full belly.

"Ah! That was some delicious meat!" he said. The three children paled and began to sweat.

"M-MEAT?! You don't think Captain Usopp was actually…." Tamanegi said. Nami chuckled and Zoro grinned.

"Your captain…." he said with a devilish smirk. "Was eaten!" With high pitched screams, the children held onto each other as their eyes popped out of their sockets.

"AAAAH! ONIBABA'S!"

"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!" said Nami as she hit them all on the head. Luffy laughed then told them where Usopp actually left off to. Sighing in relief, the three children led the real pirate trio to Kaya's mansion. There, they saw Usopp perched on a tree next to Kaya's window with her laughing at his fake stories. Suddenly, Klahadore appeared and forced Usopp to leave, despite his shouts of disapproval. Usopp ran off after that and sat near the edge of a cliff. Knowing he was there, Luffy sat next to him and tried talking to him to cheer him up. Then, Luffy looked down at the bottom of the cliff to see Kuro and Jango talking about their plan to kill Kaya. Following Luffy's example, Usopp looked down and overheard the villains' plans as well. He paled at the thought that Kaya's butler was going to kill her and ran back to tell everyone what he heard. Luffy sighed and followed him. As expected, he watched Usopp get dejected by everyone he told since they thought he was lying. The sniper began to cry and decided to stop the Black Cat pirates on his own. Luffy stepped in front of him just as the rest of his and Usopp's crew had found them. Usopp was relieved to find his trusty crew of children so he retold his story thinking they would believe him. However, they just stared and shook their heads.

"Usopp…We've heard so many of your lies, but this one takes the cake." Piiman said. Those words made the sniper feel devastated. He could feel tears welling up at the sudden betrayal as he watched the three walk away from him. After the kids had left, Luffy spoke:

"Usopp…Don't do this alone. My crew and I can help you defeat Kuro." he encouraged as he put a hand on the sniper's shoulder to reassure him. Sniffling and wiping back tears with his arm, Usopp looked at the ground.

"What do you know? I have to do this by myself to protect Kaya." He said. Luffy shook his head and smiled gently.

"Because we believe you. Isn't that right guys?" Zoro and Nami nodded. Feeling a little more reassured, Usopp smiled at his new friends. Luffy smiled back.

"Besides, I was there when Kuro and Jango were talking. So, what's your plan?" At that, Usopp began telling the pirates his plan. The next day, Luffy and the others arrived at the beach side where they thought the Black Cat pirates would arrive. However, Luffy remembered what had happened last time and hurriedly told the others that they were attacking from the other side. Running, they all followed Usopp to not get lost and arrive just in time. They watched from atop the hill as the Black Cat pirates came out of their ship, fully armed. Usopp and Nami backed off a bit in fear while Luffy and Zoro prepared to fight. Luffy looked behind him to see the two encouraging them on. Sweat dropping a bit, he turned around.

"Hey, Zoro. Let's let our new crewmates fight this one for a bit. They need the experience"

With that, he sat down on a rock. The reactions were mixed. Zoro didn't need to be told twice as he happily leaned back on a big rock, yawning. Nami looked like she was about to pass out and unwillingly got her staff out. Usopp tried to make up a very unconvincing reason to get out of the situation, but it proved futile as he got out his slingshot. They were holding off the pirates for a bit, until they were eventually outnumbered. Zoro opened one eye from his nap and sighed. Getting his swords he slashed the attacking pirates from Nami and Usopp, sending them down the slope. Seeing that they were losing the fight, Jango hypnotized the defeated pirates and they all immediately got up. Eyes blank, muscles bulging, and drooling by the mouth, the Black Cat pirates continued their attack. This time, it was harder to fight them off.

Luffy decided then that his friends were in trouble, so he got up and used Gum Gum Gatling to punch each one of the Black Cat pirates back down the slope. Zoro watched in amusement while the other two watched with gaping mouths.

"He beat them so quickly... Just how strong is he?" murmured Usopp.

Jango looked in horror at the defeated warriors and called in the Black Cat's trump card: The Nyaban Brothers. However, instead of intimidating, they appeared to be complete cowards. Zoro sweat dropped at the stupid act and threatened to cut the brothers if they didn't back down.

Suddenly, Sham dropped the act and quickly attacked Zoro, knocking two of his swords out of his hand. Completely, caught off guard, Zoro was left nearly defenseless as he tried to deflect the attacks from the two. Nami had snuck off to protect her treasure when she saw the swords land near her feet. Jango then noticed her and had thrown his chakras to attack her. One slashed her shoulder and Luffy's face darkened. He was about to punch Jango for hurting his friend when Kuro suddenly appeared. All the Black Cat pirates sweat dropped tremendously.

"YOU IMBECILES! CAN'T EVEN HOLD OFF A BUNCH OF KIDS!" The Black Cat captain screamed. Luffy stared nonchalantly at the captain and quickly grabbed Nami with Zoro's swords.

"Zoro! Catch!" With that, Nami threw the two swords back to Zoro and he caught them with an evil smirk on his face.

"Next time, don't throw them." he muttered as he held his three swords. Nami was a bit threatened by his words.

"Hey, where is my 'thank you?' " she said. Zoro simply grunted in return as he began to fight the Nyaban brothers again. Luffy laughed.

"Don't worry, Nami. That means 'thank you' in Zoro language!" he said. Zoro was now easily holding off the attacks and stepped back to prepare his special move.

"**Oni Giri!**" he said darkly and finished off Sham and Buchi, who screamed in fear. Sham was out cold while Buchi weakly crawled over to Jango.

"Jango.. Please hypnotize me.. so I can defeat that monster!" he rasped.

Jango complied and after using his quirk, Buchi stood tall once again. He was much faster and stronger now, but Zoro shrugged. The battle commenced but instead of attacking head on, Buchi jumped up in the air and smashed the ground below. Zoro narrowly dodged it and had a difficult time balancing on the ground.

"Hmph. So, he's stronger now. But that doesn't make him closer to my level!"

Glaring at the massive man, the swordsman quickly slid underneath him and sliced Buchi's leg, making him fall on one knee. Using the opening, Zoro finished off Buchi for good with another powerful 'Oni Giri.' Finally defeated, the bleeding cat man lay unmoving on the ground. Zoro confidently smired as he sheathed his swords to watch the fight with Luffy and Kuro.

It was humorous, really. Kuro was attacking with everything he had to just land one hit on the straw hat captain. Luffy was laughing the entire time, which infuriated Kuro even more. Usopp, Nami, the three children, and Kaya, who had just arrived to watch the fight, watched in sheer shock. Then, suddenly Kuro stopped and swayed his arms back and forth, preparing his uncontrollable attack 'Shakushi.' The attack made him a blur to the naked eye, but Luffy saw him as if he was running, using Observation Haki. Seeing him attack his own subordinates made the pirate king extremely mad so he jumped in the air, muttered 'Armament,' and hit the Black Cat captain with a full force Gum Gum Pistol. With one hit, Kuro was down with his glasses knocked off his bleeding, bruised face. Seeing the fight was over, Kaya turned to Usopp and hugged him.

"I-I'm so sorry for not believing you. When I saw Klaha- no, Kuro try to kill one of your friends, I felt so bad... I can never forgive myself!" She looked up with tears in her eyes. Usopp gently smiled.

"Kaya, don't worry. None of the villagers believed me when I told them. I could never be mad at you though."

Kaya managed to smile through her tears and thanked everyone for protecting her. Luffy then remembered the rest of the pathetic and cowering Black Cat crew. It pissed him off knowing they were following such a thoughtless captain so he kicked Kuro's body to them and yelled:

"If you ever come back again, I will personally come back and kick every single one of your asses to hell!"

Shrieking all of them nodded and ran back to the ship with their captain, never to be seen again. Back at the beach, Kaya and Merry decided as thanks they would give Luffy their ship, Going Merry. Everyone was grateful, especially Luffy.

'Welcome back, Merry...' he silently thought.

As the Straw Hat crew were about to leave, their sniper began to say goodbye thinking they wouldn't let him join. However, Luffy shot down those doubts immediately.

"What do you mean goodbye?! GET ON!" he yelled. Ussop could feel tears well up in his eyes in joy as he ran onto the ship.

"YES! I'm going to be captain of my own crew!" Luffy hit him on the head for that.

"Don't be an idiot! I'm captain!" he yelled in return. Everyone else laughed at the sight. With that, Going Merry set off to sea, right towards the Baratie where they would pick up their cook.

'Sanji better cook me a feast because I'm starving!' Luffy thought as he gazed at the beautiful, blue ocean.

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**Next Time:**

The crew arrive at the Baratie and meet Sanji, the lovesick cook. Their enjoyment is interrupted though when Don Krieg arrives, barely alive from his return from the Grand Line. Unknowingly, they were being followed by the world's greatest swordsman, who was also the cause of their defeat. Zoro is anxious to fight him and Luffy is worried his First Mate will feel the same humiliation and defeat as last time. Also Nami steals the ship again...

TO BE CONTINUED...

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**Ok this took me from 5:00 till 10:30. I had to go somewhere midway for a couple of hours anyways, so yeah... Anyways I'm glad with all the attention this is getting! It really makes me proud! I hope that everyone is happy with the progression. If there is anything that you want in the story just type it in the Reviews and I'll read it. Now I'm going to start doing Next Times so people will get an idea for what happens next. **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**


	6. Flashbacks from the Future

**OKAY! I'm back! I told you I wouldn't give up on this fic so easily! I was very busy. Hopefully this chapter will make it up to everyone! THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER SO FAR AND I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED ARLONG PARK ARC! Also I changed a lot of things that I wish would happen in One Piece. So just bear with me for this long one!**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

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The seas were calm and relaxing with a nice breeze to add to it. A serene day of peace…

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

"Haha! Nice shot, Usopp! You hit the rock dead on!" said Luffy as he patted his sniper on the back. Usopp blinked for a second, his hands shakily letting go of the cannon.

"I-I did?! I MEAN-Of course I did! I'm Usopp the Greatest Sniper in the World!" He puffed his chest out proudly at his accomplishment. Though he was unaware of the outcome of his shots, Luffy was.

'Oh boy! We get to meet Johnny and Yosaku again! They were so funny!' He thought.

Suddenly, a hand climbed on the side of the ship and out popped a man with a sword. He looked pretty pissed and saw Luffy as his first target. With a clumsy slash, he attacked the captain, who dodged it with no trouble at all. When the man was about to attack again, Zoro called his name out to which he stopped.

"Oi, Johnny! What are you doing?"

The man called Johnny's eyes widened at Zoro's sight and immediately ran towards him.

"Big Bro Zoro! How have you been?" he asked as he slowly sheathed his sword.

"I'm fine but where is your partner?" Johnny then looked sad as he pointed an accusing finger towards Luffy and Usopp.

"HE'S GOING TO DIE! I CARRIED HIM TO THIS ISLAND TO REST UNTIL A CANNONBALL HIT US AND NOW HIS CONDITION WILL GET WORSE!" he dramatically started to cry as he explained.

Ussop looked like he was going to faint as he screamed while waving his arms wildly, saying 'I'm sorry!' over and over. Luffy on the other hand looked the opposite. He was calm and picked his nose, looking completely unfazed by the fact he nearly killed two people. He knew that they wouldn't be hurt at all from Ussop's shot, but he had to consider the possibility that the shot could have gone awry.

When Nami told Johnny to go get his friend so they could see his condition, it appeared he only had a common case of scurvy. Luffy got the bucket of lemons and handed them to Nami who squeezed the lemon juice into Yosaku's mouth. Almost immediately as if he were never affected, Yosaku got up and danced with Johnny, grateful towards the Straw Hats. Thankful for the treatment, they stopped dancing and told the crew of the Baratie, a floating sea restaurant that was just up ahead. They also said they would pay for their food. Luffy jumped up wildly at that and the rest of the crew sweat dropped, looking pitifully at Johnny and Yosaku who were unaware of Luffy's seemingly endless appetite.

As they all approached the Baratie, a marine ship appeared beside theirs. On the ship was Fullbody, the lieutenant. Luffy sighed and rolled his eyes.

'I forgot about him. He is so annoying and his pink hair reminds me of Coby. Thank god Coby and even Helmeppo become better marines than him.' His thoughts were shaken from an ear piercing yell.

"HEY! WHO'S THE CAPTAIN OF THIS STUPID SHIP?!" Luffy's eyes glared at Fullbody as he casually shoved Usopp away during his fake speech of being captain. He stepped on top of the Going Merry's head and crossed his arms.

"I am! My name is Monkey D. Luffy and I'm the real captain of the Straw Hat pirates!" Fullbody laughed which made Luffy even more annoyed.

"Well it looks like a complete wreck! Sink it, boys!" The marines then saluted him and began to prepare their cannons. When it was ready, Fullbody shouted 'FIRE!' and the cannonballs were all homing in on the Going Merry. Everyone except Luffy began panicking while the man himself only stood still with his hat shadowing his eyes. Then, he jumped up and yelled,

"Gum Gum Balloon!" making his entire body expand and catch all the cannonballs. Everyone's eyes widened while Luffy smirked and released all the cannonballs at triple speed. This time, he made sure to aim his shots all towards Fullbody's ship. Barely staying afloat, the marine ship just continued its way alongside Merry without any more cannon shots. Both of them still stayed in tension as they reached the Baratie. Fullbody wordlessly walked inside with a woman beside him. Luffy's crew and company followed but sat at a table across from them. The people who were chatting suddenly stopped and stared at the new customers, mainly at Luffy. The captain himself just smiled and did a peace sign. Then everyone just sweat dropped and continued their conversations thinking Luffy was just another harmless civilian.

After a few minutes, a familiar blonde haired cook/waiter appeared to take their order. Luffy grinned widely and remembered the delicious food that was made for him by this cook. 'Sanji. Welcome back.' He thought in his mind. Wanting to humor himself out of sheer boredom, Luffy began to order, but in a gentlemanly tone he picked up from Sabo.

"Yes sir, may I please have a large plate of meat?" He grinned as he watched his friends stare at him like he was an alien. To say the least, they were surprised. Sanji was a little wide eyed at the formal behavior but snapped out of it quickly.

"Okay, will that be all?" he said in a bored tone. He practically glared at everyone, but then he looked upon Nami and his eyes turned into hearts. His mood and personality changed drastically.

"What beauty I have layed my eyes on! My name is Sanji and it will be my pleasure to serve you! What is your name, oh enchantress of the sea? " he said while kneeling and holding Nami's hand. She giggled.

"My name is Nami." With that, Sanji's eye-hearts grew and he began to do a funny noodle dance.

"I shall make you a delicious dessert!" Nami's eyes grew mischievous and she smirked.

"For free?" she said with oh-so-endearing puppy eyes that made Sanji's nose practically explode in blood. He immediately stood up straight and began to walk away, until he was stopped by Zoro who shouted his name to order something. At that, Sanji stopped walking and reluctantly went back to their table. He glared intensely at Zoro who returned the favor. Then Sanji broke the staring match and asked the rest what they wanted to order in a dark muttering tone, completely different compared to when he talked to Nami. After a while, Sanji brought all the food to the Straw Hat's table and they all began to eat. Luffy continued his little joke.

"Why thank you very much sir! This meat is delectable and satisfying compared to others I've consumed before. You must be incredibly talented in cooking to have prepared such tantalizing dishes." Once more, everyone at the table stopped eating and stared at Luffy even more. One, for using big words and two for still being like a gentleman. It was actually scaring them a bit. Luffy laughed and let go of his gentleman persona completely. He then turned to a stunned and confused Sanji with a grin.

"I'm just kidding! I'm not a gentleman but this meat is really good!" To support that fact, he began stuffing his face with meat. His crew then sighed and sweat dropped, secretly thankful for having old Luffy back. Sanji bit his cigarette from actually being fooled by such an idiot and felt like kicking the straw hat captain until he was stopped by Fullbody's voice. Even Luffy stopped laughing now.

"Hey, waiter! Come over here for a second!" he said and everything seemed to quiet down as Sanji begrudgingly walked towards the table. Luffy stared at the scene and remembered Fullbody getting served by Sanji, but not with food. He laughed as he saw the outcome of the conversation with Fullbody beaten to a pulp and Sanji glaring daggers and calling him insults. Everyone was silent and quiet except for Luffy's laughter to which they all turned to stare at him like he was crazy. Then, all the attention shifted towards a man with a peg leg coming down the stairs.

'Chef Zeff.' Luffy thought.

"Sanji! What did I tell you about beating up the customers, you bloody brat?!" Sanji cringed and slowly let go of Fullbody's half dead...body. Zeff kicked Fullbody towards the doors and shouted:

"YOU! GET OUTTA MY RESTAURANT!"

Fullbody limped towards the doors thinking how he would tell the marines all about the crazy owner and waiter that dare laid a finger on the lieutenant. As he was near the doors, they were flung open by a marine officer who saluted Fullbody and quickly told him that their hostage had escaped. Fullbody's eyes widened and cursed his bad luck today.

"WHAT?! BUT HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEA-"

He was suddenly interrupted by a gunshot, made by a pale and barely alive Gin, that killed his subordinate. Gin slowly walked towards a chair and table, then pointed his gun at one of the chefs. Luffy simply stared at Gin and memories of him flooded his mind. After he had beaten Don Krieg, Gin left to sail with the rest of the Krieg pirates. Luffy hadn't seen him for a very long time after that, so long he thought he had died from the poisonous gas Krieg idiotically shot at the Baratie. Apparently, Gin had come back as the leader of his own pirate crew and rejoined Luffy at Raftel after he heard Luffy was Pirate King. Then, he asked to join Luffy's crew as thanks for freeing him from Don Krieg and became a part of Luffy's giant armada as a commander of his own fleet.

Luffy smiled at the memories of Gin and looked back at the past version to see he had just gotten a beating and now staggered outside where he met Sanji in the back. Luffy watched from above and saw Sanji give Gin a bowl of rice. Thankful, Gin left to get his captain, unknowing of what would happen when he did. Luffy jumped down in front of Sanji and began to talk about the All Blue. Since Luffy had been there and completed Sanji's dream with him, he told Sanji that he had seen the All Blue to which Sanji didn't believe.

"Yeah, right. You couldn't have seen it. It may be my dream, but believing you is out of the question. Especially when you are from East Blue." He said while lighting another cigarette. Luffy just gazed at Sanji. Then he smiled, looking out at the ocean.

"Well, the All Blue isn't as legendary as it seems. It's actually a beautiful place. There are fish from all the oceans and the water is clearer than any I have seen." He paused to look at Sanji and smirked at how Sanji was speechless.

"I've gotta warn you though, it has some of the biggest and nastiest Sea Kings I have ever encountered!" Luffy stood up and began to walk away.

"It's the perfect place for you, Sanji and I'll help you follow your dream if you join my crew." With that, he exited through the door and left a completely bewildered Sanji debating whether or not to go with him. When he got back, Luffy saw that Don Krieg had already arrived. He sat down and watched the foul captain beg pitifully for food. Once he had gotten what he wanted, he abruptly stood up and threatened the ship to give them Zeff's journal on the Grand Line and some more food for one-hundred men. Gin had no idea this would happen but got beaten down by Krieg when he tried to reason. Zoro was on guard and holding onto his swords, Ussop was shaking tremendously, Nami was on the ship convincing Johnny and Yosaku to get off, Sanji and the other chefs were trying to attack Don Krieg, and here Luffy was just sitting down casually eating meat. Then, Zeff appeared with a giant bag filled with food for one-hundred men.

"Here is what you wanted. Now take it and go before I change my mind." he said, ignoring everyone, except Luffy's, shocked stares. Krieg just grabbed the bag and threatened they bring the journal when he returned or else he would blow the place up. Zeff asked why he needed the journal and Krieg told everyone his tale of woe and how he couldn't get through the Grand Line. Just then, his ship split into two and everyone could see that Krieg looked scared. Zeff sighed.

"Looks like you brought company from the Grand Line. You probably disrupted his nap to make him this tenacious as to hunt you down." Luffy watched in amusement and turned to see Zoro smirking and instinctively holding his swords. Then he turned back and saw the Going Merry out of the corner of his eyes and shook his head.

'I'm kind of sad she still doesn't trust me enough to beat Arlong. I thought she would've gotten that hint by now. Oh well, I'll deal with it later.' He walked outside followed by his remaining crew to see the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, in his little coffin-shaped boat.

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Flashback:

Zoro had done it. He had finally beaten Dracule Mihawk and claimed the title of world's greatest swordsman. The Black Blade was knocked out of the wielder's hands and flew up in the sky only to plunge deep into the ground after its descent. Zoro put one of his swords in front of Mihawk's neck and smirked. To Mihawk's surprise, he sheathed all of his swords instead of taking his life.

"Are you not going to take my life to prove you have defeated me?" he asked. Zoro just looked at Luffy and Luffy to him with a knowing smirk.

"Nah, I'll leave your fate to my captain to decide." Taking that as his cue, the Pirate King walked up and offered his hand to Mihawk, who was on the ground. He took it and dusted himself off, staring at the duo with a questionable look. Then, Luffy laughed and said something that he would never have thought would have been said.

"Will you join my crew?" Mihawk's eyes widened as he contemplated on the offer. This was one of the rare moments when the secluded Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk actually showed emotion. Finally deciding on an answer, he spoke.

"I have nothing else to do when I get back, so I'll accept your offer, pirate king. Just make sure I stay entertained." Luffy grinned and jumped up in the air with his two fists up.

"Awesome!" Luffy had gained another powerful friend to fight beside him and life just kept getting better for the new Pirate King.

* * *

Luffy grinned and then walked up to him despite his dark glare.

"Shishishi! Hi, Mihawk!" he greeted with a bright grin on his face. Mihawk just stared at Luffy, raising an eyebrow slightly while everyone else stared at the captain like he was an idiot. Zoro's eyes widened at the sight. He was astounded at how unafraid Luffy was despite being in the presence of the world's greatest swordsman.

That, or he was completely brain dead.

"Hmph. You're quite the intrepid fellow aren't you? I noticed something peculiar about your straw hat." said Mihawk.

Luffy took his hat off and showed it to him.

"This is Shanks' hat. He gave it to me so I could give it back to him when I become Pirate King." Hawkeyes nodded in understanding.

"He did always mention something about a little kid with his straw hat whenever we visited each other."

Luffy laughed then gave a thumbs up as he walked back. Mihawk smiled just the tiniest bit in amusement. Zoro then walked up to him and challenged him to a duel. The man took out a little dagger revealed from his cross necklace, which enraged the first mate.

"What the hell, do you think this is a joke?" yelled Zoro. Hawkeyes merely shrugged.

"You are from the East Blue, the weakest of the seas. I wouldn't want to overdo it." He responded.

At that, the first mate charged at Mihawk, initiating their duel. However, it was dreadfully one sided. Every attack Zoro attempted was parried by Hawkeyes while the latter's successfully landed each time. Zoro was losing badly and began to wildly attack Mihawk in frustration. He was now growling and letting his demonic side get the better of him. His amateur swings and loss of attack patterns did not go unnoticed, and finally the world's greatest swordsman stabbed the first mate in the chest to halt his special attack. Staggering, Zoro regained his pride and asked to be defeated by Mihawk's Black Blade. With a smirk, he accepted and cut Zoro on the back only for him to turn around.

"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame."

Another cut on the front and this time Zoro went down, nearly drowning had Johnny and Yosaku not saved him. Luffy now glared daggers at Mihawk, who simply shrugged at the gesture. Luffy disappeared then reappeared in front of him and halfheartedly tried to hit him to which the blow was dodged.

"I know he's still alive, but that really could've hurt him and his pride!" he said while still glaring at Mihawk who stared in return.

"It was his decision to go down only by my Black Blade. I simply granted his wish." Luffy's eyes slightly widened in recollection at the words 'grant' and 'wish'. Mihawk of course noticed this and raised an eyebrow in question. He was about to acknowledge it, but was interrupted by a heavily bleeding Zoro with his sword held up.

"L-Luffy…Can you hear me?" he said weakly. Luffy knew what was coming and nodded.

"I'm sorry I let you down... I swear from this point onward, I WILL NEVER LOSE TO ANYONE EVER AGAIN! IS THAT ALRIGHT WITH YOU, KING OF THE PIRATES?" Luffy and Mihawk both smirked.

"Of course it is! I expect no less from you!" replied Luffy. Mihawk decided to take this moment to encourage Zoro as well.

"It is far too early for you to die. My name is Dracule Mihawk. Find your true self, true world, and become stronger! No matter how long it will take, I will await you in my strongest form! Surpass me! Surpass this sword! Roronoa Zoro!"

Everyone was silent. Besides Luffy, Zeff looked the least bit surprised.

"For Mihawk to declare such words... Those brats will definitely go far someday." he said. Mihawk turned to Luffy and whispered to him so no one else would hear.

"Also, I would be a little cautious around your swordsman." he said. Luffy looked at him bewildered. This was a new development.

"Why? Is something wrong with him?" Luffy asked slightly worried.

"While I was battling with him, I felt something change in his attacks. He was originally battling with strategy and patterns, but then after that didn't work, he suddenly changed. It is as if his patterns had gone wild, and his mind was clouded with blood lust and intention to kill me. I think there is more than what meets the eye with him." he finished. Luffy was stunned for the first time so far. Nothing like this happened in the future, so had he done something wrong? Mihawk decided to take his leave but was then stopped by Don Krieg.

"Hey, Hawk Eyes! Didn't you come here for me?! The head of Don Krieg, the greatest pirate in East Blue?!"

Mihawk just stared while Luffy face palmed and sighed.

"I'll beat him up real good for ruining your dramatic exit." Luffy said. Mihawk nodded then turned to leave.

"Bye, Hawk Eyes! I'm sure we will see each other again! Next time, introduce me to the rest of the Seven- Ummm...Seven...OH! Seven Warlocks of the Sea!" Mihawk smirked in amusement as he got on his boat and left. Luffy's stomach growled as he drooled at the thought of meat, unaware of Don Krieg preparing to kill him. When Krieg was about to make his move, Luffy snapped out of his daydreams and jumped up in time to dodge the attack from Krieg's Bomb Spear. He wanted to finish things quick so he could catch up to Nami.

"Gum Gum Battle Axe!" Luffy yelled. Don Krieg had no time to dodge and was pulverized through the ground by the finishing move. All the Krieg pirates who had been watching from afar immediately appeared by their captain's side checking if he was okay. When they found a pulse, they all dragged the rest of their crew members and tried swimming away. Suddenly, Pearl the Iron Wall, aka Krieg's second unit commander, appeared from behind Luffy. He was about to attack him until Gin appeared in front of him and smashed Pearl's armor with his tonfa. He smiled at Luffy after knocking Pearl unconscious.

"That's my 'thank you' for showing me that Krieg is just an arrogant weakling compared to others. I was blind to follow him." he said. Luffy laughed and waved his hand passively.

"I could have taken him out myself, but thanks for the help! Why don't you join my crew?" he said. Gin looked very happy but then remembered the humiliating defeat at the Grand Line. With a small smile, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry Luffy, but I don't think we are ready for the Grand Line yet. When I see you again, you will know that I've gotten stronger and I will join your crew."

Gin turned to leave but not after thanking and apologizing to the cooks on the Baratie. Somehow, the boat stayed afloat from carrying one-hundred men plus Gin, Pearl, and Krieg. Luffy jumped back on the Baratie to eat some more meat since he was starving. After the feast Luffy had, he tried asking Sanji to join his crew only to be rejected once more. Zeff and the other cooks noticed that Sanji wouldn't leave because of them and decided to try and force Sanji out by pretending to hate his cuisines. That only succeeded in making Sanji mad so Luffy decided to talk to him outside.

"You know, they only disrespected your food because they know that you won't leave." he said. Sanji stared at him and sighed.

"Huh. Is that so? Then I guess since I've already accomplished being acknowledged by the geezer, I'll join your crew." he had to cover his ears from Luffy's loud shout of joy.

"YEAH! I've finally got a cook on my crew!"

Sanji simply put his head in his hands thinking what he had just gotten himself into. After heartfelt goodbyes from Zeff, and the other cooks from the Baratie, Luffy, Usopp, Yosaku, Zoro, and Sanji all set sail for Arlong Park where they would save Nami from Arlong's broken debt, as the quest to become Pirate King continued…

* * *

**Next Time:**

Luffy and his crew head towards Arlong Park where Nami is shattered over Arlong not keeping his promise. Luffy is in a rage after being reminded what it feels like to see his friends cry. As the battles get tougher, Luffy is worried that he is changing too many things in the past and Zoro is struggling to keep his secret. What has changed ever since Luffy's presence upon this timeline?

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

**Ok this chapter looked longer when I was still typing it... I mean 6 pages and over 3,000 words COME ON! Oh well hope you liked this chapter and I thought that instead of killing Mihawk, Luffy would ask him to join his crew cause he's Luffy. He is just that kind of guy to show mercy and give strong, interesting characters a chance. Anyways, the 'Seven Warlocks of the Sea' part I wanted to use for hopefully a laugh out of the viewers...*cricket chirps* I tried.. I have no idea what humor even is yet I laugh at practically everything... I'm just weird that way. **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**


	7. Never Too Late

**...There are no words to describe how sorry I am. I stayed up all night making this from scratch for all of you! I'm so tired...Well I don't care if this seems rushed, it's because I didn't get any sleep. So...**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

* * *

The normally clear blue sky was dark and cloudy. Few raindrops made its way to the ground till more fell through and eventually poured down heavily. Nami covered her head with her arm as she dragged a large pile of money from the ship with her. She felt guilty that she had to steal Luffy's ship, but she desperately needed the money to save her village.

_'Stupid pirates.'_ She thought. _'They should have known that I was never really a part of their dumb crew.'_

Memories started to flood into her mind as she remembered Luffy beating all those scary looking guys with one hit. Nami stopped walking and began to ponder. Shaking her head, she kept walking except with more speed. The memories continued…

Luffy sends Alvida skyrocketing into the sky…

_She was fat and a very big target_

Luffy frees the Demon of the East Blue and shatters Axe Hand Morgan's pride…

_Only a story she read on the newspaper_

Luffy punches Buggy the Clown over the next five islands…

_He could take a part his limbs and fly over_

Luffy doesn't take a scratch from Kuro's insanely fast attacks…

_Must've…been dumb luck since the guy couldn't control his own attack_

Luffy has a nice chat with Shichibukai Dracule Mihawk…

_They must have known each other from before…._

Luffy easily kicks Don Krieg through the ground…

_He…..The ground….was wooden and couldn't hold the weight of Krieg's heavily armored body…._

Luffy is always happy…..

_I could never be…_

Luffy makes new friends everywhere he goes…

_While I make new enemies…_

Luffy cares for his friends…

_He must hate me now that I have betrayed him…._

Luffy saved all of his friends…

_…._

LUFFY COULD HAVE SAVED YOU…

Nami fell to her knees and rain poured even more heavily and felt like bullets on her skin. She shakily stood up and repeated the same thing inside of her head.

_'It's too late for forgiveness…..'_

All her strength was sapped and the bag felt like it was full of bricks. Eventually she arrived in front of the stone gates of her boss' domain. The gates opened and she stepped inside.

_'Too late…'_

* * *

Luffy and his crew had arrived on the island to save Nami. There they met the villagers who were skeptical of more pirates at first, but calmed down after Luffy told them they were here to save Nami.

"Oh thank goodness you're here to save her! For years she was working to pay her debt to Arlong so he could give back the village. Though if you ask me I think Arlong couldn't keep a promise to save his life." Genzo looked back at Arlong's hideout and sighed.

"Well, I'm just glad she finally made enough to free the village. If you want to see Nami, she is at her and Nojiko's home. Come, I'll lead you there."

With that, he turned around and began walking. Luffy motioned for the crew to follow as well and they all walked towards the household. When they arrived though, marines were in the area and forcing Nami to show them where the money was. Nojiko looked completely shocked and enraged.

"What do you think you are doing?! Why are you here?!" she shouted. Nezumi, the marine captain who looked like a rat, grinned at her.

"Well Nami here is accused of harboring illegal money. So, by the code of the law, I am here to confiscate it all." Nami was crying and desperately trying to escape the grip of two marines. Genzo was furious. He glared at Nezumi.

"What part of it is illegal?! That money she earned was to buy back the village from the treacherous pirate who owns it!" he spat. Nami stopped escaping and stared in shock at Genzo for knowing the reason she 'joined' Arlong. Nezumi just kept on grinning, completely ignoring the Arlong part.

"Well too bad! I'm still taking the money."

Luffy clenched his fist and grit his teeth. He would probably alter the future if he decided to step in now, but he couldn't stand to see Nami cry and torture herself.

_'__Screw it.'_ He thought and Luffy ran towards Nezumi, with his fist pulled back, but this time not using his rubber abilities. Everyone's eyes widened as Nezumi's face was smashed in, with teeth falling out and blood spurting everywhere. He fell like a rag doll and didn't move.

"L-Luffy…." It was all Nami could say since everyone else was speechless. The marines let her go and retreated in fear of seeing their boss being beaten so easily. Nami's knees were weak, but she managed to stay up and walk over to Luffy. She hugged him with tears falling out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry…I'M SORRY!" she cried. Luffy smiled at her and hugged her back.

"Nami, I'm a little disappointed in you for not trusting me to kick Arlong's ass, but that's alright. I'll always forgive you. I'll always forgive my friends." She nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. Smiling at Luffy, she looked to the rest of the crew and then at Nojiko and Genzo. She turned back to Luffy with a determined look in her eye.

"Go kick his ass then, captain!" she said.

Everyone smiled at her as Luffy rushed out of the house and ran towards Arlong Park with his crew tailing behind. Back at the house, Nami was about to follow them when Nojiko put a hand on her shoulder.

"Nami, I'm glad that you have such great friends! You can definitely trust them to save you." Genzo walked up beside her and grinned at Nami as well.

"I'm a little jealous actually. Well, no reason to hold you back. I'm excited to see Luffy beat up Arlong." With a nod, Nami ran towards her friends and joined them as they stopped in front of the stone gates. Luffy glared at the obstacle. Behind these gates was the villain that Nami had to endure torture from for all those years. He also sent Nezumi to try to steal the money so she would have to start all over again.

Oh, that bastard was going to pay. Luffy pulled back his fist.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Immediately on contact, the stone gates broke and sent debris flying everywhere. Arlong's eyes widened at the sight. Luffy stepped in and glared at him.

"Arlong…I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO NAMI!" In a flash, he ran towards Arlong and punched him right in the saw nose. Surprisingly, Luffy didn't get hurt, but on closer inspection his crew saw his arm was black. Arlong's henchmen were stunned because they didn't see the attack coming, but snapped out of it to attack Luffy.

"Guys," Luffy turned around to look at his crew, "Take care of these guys while I deal with Arlong."

Zoro smirked and got his three swords ready.

Sanji lit his cigarette and puffed out smoke.

Usopp tried to make an excuse, but saw that Luffy was staring at him and eventually he nodded reluctantly.

"Good. Zoro you take on Hachi, the guy with a bunch of arms, Sanji you take on Kuroobi, the guy who looks like a martial artist, and Usopp you take on Chew, the weird okama looking fish guy." he finished. The mentioned enemies were extremely surprised now at Luffy for knowing their names. Usopp was still scared to fight Chew and was beginning to back out.

"Usopp.." Luffy said. "If you want to become a brave warrior of the sea, you have to start being brave. I know each of you can beat them, you just have to try."

Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp then smiled with a brand new look of determination as they split up to fight their opponents. Luffy's attention shifted when he heard the sound of groaning. Looking back, he saw Arlong come out of the pieces of stone that fell on him. His eyes were wild and menacing but Luffy just glared back. The two rushed at each other as they threw hard punches back and forth. Arlong was of course on the losing edge as he threw punches only to hit air. Meanwhile, Luffy's punches hit the target every time.

Suddenly, Arlong stopped and jumped into the water. Looking closely, Luffy saw the shadow of him and knew that he was about to use his Shark on Darts attack. He took the moment to use Observation Haki to sense when Arlong was about to attack and when the fish man called out his move, he jumped out of the water to try and skewer Luffy. It proved futile when Luffy grabbed Arlong's nose mid-air, bending it with a sickening crack, and throwing him towards the tower. Arlong landed right through the wall and into a room full of maps that Luffy recognized all too well. He jumped in and glared at everything in the room.

This was the room, no... the prison that the shark bastard forced his navigator to work in for years...

With his hat shadowing his eyes, the pirate king smashed apart the room and threw it out the hole in the wall. Nami could see from a distance what Luffy was doing for her and put her hand over her mouth as more tears welled up in her eyes. Though this time, they were tears of joy.

"Th-Thank you, Luffy!" she managed to stutter out.

When the room was completely empty and demolished, Arlong growled at Luffy.

"YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" In a final attempt to end Straw Hat, he grabbed Kiribachi, his sword, and attacked Luffy with it.

"Armament." he muttered as the sword shattered upon contact with his neck. Arlong's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He began to sweat bullets when Luffy began to walk over and then jumped high into the air.

"Gum Gum Battle Axe!" he shouted as he threw his foot into the air to then smash right through Arlong and the tower floors. Nami was crying tears of joy as the townsfolk rejoiced.

The battle was not over yet as Luffy sat down on a piece of debris to watch the battle his crew members were fighting individually. Zoro was taking many hits but managed to slash Hachi a few times as well. He was severely weakened by Mihawk's slash back at the Baratie and looked like he wouldn't hold up much longer.

Zoro looked over and saw Luffy observing him, so he assumed that his captain had already finished off Arlong. He suddenly stopped and a demonic aura surrounded him. Luffy looked on with worried eyes.

"**If I don't beat you now, then I'll look weak.**" he said. Hachi began to sweat. Zoro prepared for the finishing move.

"**Oni Giri.**" Hachi was now completely terrified as the move was so fast that it took a moment for him to realize that he was bleeding heavily with several large wounds across his chest.

"How could three swords beat my six swords?" he wondered as he fainted. Luffy had watched the battle with wide eyes. It may have been for a second, but he swore he could've seen Zoro with nine swords and three heads when he did that last attack. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize that Zoro had walked over to him.

"Captain…." Luffy looked up to see Zoro staring at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Luffy stared back as he tried to comprehend what he had just seen. Shaking his head and passing it off as just an illusion, he nodded his head at Zoro and went to check up on Sanji and Usopp. Sanji had just landed the final kick on Kuroobi and Usopp walked back in with Chew nowhere in sight. Nami and the rest of the grateful townsfolk cheered the Straw Hat crew.

"WE ARE FREE!"

"Let's PARTY!"

"I can't thank you enough." Genzo said as he walked up to Luffy.

"I think a feast will do you good." Nojiko stated. "You all look very tired."

"Everyone.. I-I don't know what to say." Nami closed her eyes to prevent any more tears.

"Well, I know of a way to repay me!" Luffy said. She opened her eyes at him.

"GIVE ME SOME MEAT!" he yelled.

Everyone sweat dropped.

That night there was a large feast to celebrate the Straw Hat's victory. Everyone was happy and content with the food and music. However, Luffy couldn't help but think about Zoro's Kyutoryu attack. He knew that Zoro had it but he wasn't even supposed to unlock it till Enies Lobby or master it until after the two years of training.

_ 'I must be changing more things than I thought.'_ he thought to himself. He would ask Zoro about it later, when they were alone.

The next day, everyone was a little tired from the party, but managed to say their goodbyes. Nami was prepared to see her friend's off. To pay for her betra-

"NAMI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK ON HERE!" Luffy shouted. Nami's mouth hung open.

"B-But I betrayed you! You could never forgive me!" she said.

"I have your one hundred million beri on board!"

Nami immediately turned around and jumped on board, hugging her sweet, sweet money. Everyone stared and sweat dropped at her while Luffy laughed.

"Alright, guys! Set sail to Loguetown!" With that, Luffy smiled as memories of meeting Smokey at the town of beginning flooded his mind. He couldn't wait to see him again. The sky seemed to brighten for the Straw Hat pirates as the quest to become Pirate King continued…

* * *

Sanji lit his cigarette as the door opened with Luffy entering in.

"Okay, I'm here. What did you want to talk about?" The captain asked. Sanji took a drag of smoke and exhaled.

"Luffy, do you notice anything strange with Moss Head?" Luffy looked confused for a second until he realized Sanji was talking about Zoro.

"…" He couldn't say anything because the situation was bothering him too.

"Exactly. Even if he is always strange and retarded, I noticed something when he battled that six armed Hachi guy." Luffy was silent signaling Sanji to continue.

"Luffy, your first mate looked like a demon and I don't mean because of his title, I mean an actual demon. Nine swords, three heads, and six arms ring any bells?"

Luffy's silence dragged on. This time, the cook turned to face him.

"Listen to me! Your first mate could be a danger to the crew if this keeps happening! If he really is a demon, then it's best if you let him go." At that, Luffy glared at Sanji.

"No. He is my friend not to mention my First Mate. A title like that means honor, respect, and most of all loyalty. Zoro joined my crew and made a vow to never lose again, by all means. I wouldn't leave any of my friends for the life of me and they would do the same." He turned to walk away.

"If he does in fact have a secret, I'm certain he would tell us." he said as he left through the door. Sanji sighed and crushed his cigarette beneath his foot.

"Tch. That damn marimo and his stupid captain." he said before he left as well. Unbeknownst to both of them, Zoro was eavesdropping on them from behind the door.

"They can't know my secret…**That I really am a demon.**" he muttered as his eyes glowed red for a split second.

* * *

**Next Time:**

The Straw Hats set sail for Loguetown! Many things have changed, many things haven't. Buggy and Alvida visit Luffy for a nice little reunion that involves killing him while Smoker and Tashigi also visit the Straw Hat. For a not so deadly reunion... This time though, Luffy is ready for anything! Zoro's secret is spilled! Will he tell the others? Maybe just Luffy then...

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

**I'm dead tired. My arm is killing me and I really need to sleep! Ok I'm going to keep the Demon Zoro thing as a bit of a side-story till he decides to suck up his pride and tell Luffy. Which WILL be the next chapter or two. I will work on that tomorrow. So with this chapter finally finished I am going to faint now! *faints* **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and En..Enjoy...X3**


	8. Loguetown Showdown

**I did promise to upload the chapters everyday or so didn't I? So, here it is! Also I made a mistake...Ace and Sabo are supposed to meet Luffy in Alabasta not Loguetown... The issue is fixed nonetheless! **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

* * *

Nezumi practically dragged himself from Arlong Park onto his ship due to poor eyesight and a loss of a massive amount of blood.

_'That stupid Straw Hat brat will get it now!'_ he thought as he picked up a Transponder Snail.

"Ring Ring! Ring Ring!"

"Hello? This is Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Joe. How may I help you?"

"Hello?! This is Captain Nezumi reporting from East Blue! I have recently encountered a pirate called Monkey D. Luffy and I DEMAND you put a price on his head! I am sending the picture to headquarters now."

"Ok, sir, we will discuss this with the Fleet Admiral soon enough." Nezumi slammed the Transponder Snail down and grinned in delight.

"HAHAHA! That's what you get for hurting the GREAT CAPTAIN NEZUMI! I can't wait to see the look of horror on his face when he sees his first bounty! HAHAHAHA!"

* * *

**Going Merry:**

"YAHOOOOO! Guys look! I got my first bounty!" Luffy shouted.

Everyone on the ship crowded over to see his first bounty. In mere moments, all their eyes widened and mouths hung open.

"WHA-WHAT?!" Nami said nearly fainting.

"Heh. That's exactly what I should expect from my captain." said Zoro.

"You idiot! Do you know how many filthy guys will go after my Nami-swan now?!" Sanji fumed.

"I-I should probably get off at the next island I mean I always had a can't-go-near-any-dangerous-pirates-or-bounty-hunters disease! It's VERY serious!" Usopp whimpered.

Luffy smiled and chuckled a bit at how he thought his brothers would handle it. He was certain it would involve a lot of shouting…

* * *

**Moby Dick:**

"WHAT?! NO! UNBELIEVABLE!" Flames were spewing from the main deck, shifting everyone's attention to two men who were shouting over a bounty poster.

"It's true, Ace. It says it right here." said Sabo. Ace was still setting fire to the deck underneath his feet.

"B-But Luffy is our LITTLE brother! How could he have- He must've- AAAAAUGHHH!"

Ace's flames seemed to diminish a little in disbelief. Sabo just sighed and face palmed.

"Face it. Luffy was always stronger, faster, and -dare I say it- smarter than us even since we were kids…." Ace looked at him as if he were insane. Sabo looked back.

"Nah." They both said in unison.

"Wait, wait, wait. Who is this guy that your always bickering over, yoi?" Marco said. Ace stared at him as if the answer was completely obvious.

"DUH. It's our little brother, Luffy!"

Marco just took the poster from Sabo's hand and blinked.

"Monkey D. Luffy

Wanted Dead or Alive

100, 000, 000 beri, yoi."

The others' curiosity peeked and they came over to look at the poster as well.

"I heard he beat all the toughest enemies in East Blue without a sweat." Someone whispered.

"Well, he IS Garp the Fist's grandson." Someone else whispered back.

"I read in the newspaper that he can use Haki!"

"But he's from East Bue!"

"Yeah, and he talked to Sir Dracule Mihawk as if they were friends! Not intimidated by him at all!"

"He just recently beat up Arlong so the next island would be Loguetown. I'm guessing that's where he would show up."

"HUH?! Loguetown? Then that's where I'm going too!" Ace said.

"I'm going as well! It has been a while since we have seen Luffy!" said Sabo as he quickly began to prepare bags and a boat. Marco shook his head.

"Whatever, yoi. At least we will get a few days worth of peace and quiet." Everyone laughed while Ace and Sabo glared at Marco.

"Before we leave, why don't we show Marco how much we appreciate him, Sabo?"

"Yeah, with extra love and care…" he said while cracking his knuckles. Marco stopped laughing and immediately began running with a flaming Ace and a furious Sabo right behind him.

* * *

**Marineford:**

Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared at the poster in front of him.

**Monkey D.** Luffy hit him like a train.

Garp was laughing and laughing at Sengoku's 'priceless reaction.'

"Garp…..WHY ARE YOU HAPPY ABOUT THIS?!" he yelled. Garp wiped a tear from his eye and regained some composure.

"Because! This is MY grandson! My youngest one to be exact and look at him! He's already got both his brothers beat with his FIRST BOUNTY! AHAHAHAHA!"

A tick formed on Sengoku's head as he tried to massage his temples to calm down.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It wasn't working at all. Sighing he decided to just get to the point.

"I still don't know why he has 100, 000, 000 beri! He's from the East Blue! The weakest of the four seas!" Garp once again stopped laughing but still kept on grinning madly.

"That's because I told those people that Luffy was not only my grandson, but he was very strong and talented since I first got back to his hometown! I heard that he managed to beat this 8,000,000 beri guy with just one hit! Also, he can dodge my Fists of Loves and complete training flawlessly no matter how many balloons I tied to his back." Garp finished while picking his nose.

Sengoku nearly banged his head on the table.

"I don't even want to know what goes on with any of your family…" he said while covering his head with his hands.

"Well too bad! Cause my grandson is taking the Grand Line by storm! He's on practically every newspaper." To prove his point he shoved a newspaper with the headline 'Straw Hat Luffy defeats Saw-Tooth Arlong' in front of Sengoku's face.

That was the last straw.

"GET OUT OF HERE GARP!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

**Unknown Island:**

Mihawk smoothly landed his coffin shaped boat on the beach side of an island. He looked around with a bored expression.

"That imbecile. He is much too carefree." Walking past thick bushes and tall trees, he made it to a clearing with a certain red-haired Yonkou still trying to get over another hangover. Shanks looked up while his crewmates tensed.

"Yo, Hawk Eyes! You here to duel?" he said with a goofy grin. Mihawk simply stared and wordlessly took out the poster of Luffy.

"No, I am only here to deliver a quite peculiar bounty poster." He handed it to Shanks who looked at it with wide eyes. The rest of his crew mates stared with wide eyes as well.

"No way!"

"That's Anchor?!"

"What a big bounty!"

Shanks looked from the poster to Mihawk and again.

"This can't be…Well, Luffy DID beat this guy in one hit when he was younger. I guess I can believe this for now."

"Also, I met him and he seemed to be completely unafraid. But it was a nice chat I admit, very amusing fellow. I also met his swordsman companion. I believe those two are a bit unique in a way."

Shanks nodded in understanding and kept staring at the poster with a wide grin. Mihawk turned to leave, but was kept back by Shanks' hand on his wrist.

"Hold on, Hawk Eyes. I can't just let you leave here." he said with a creepy grin.

A moment later Shanks poured down some sake for Mihawk. The rest of his crewmates were pretty much one step ahead of them as they had already started the cheery bar music.

"This party is to celebrate Luffy's first bounty! So, let's get wasted!"

"YEAH!" came the reply.

Mihawk shrugged and drank as well.

...

Five hours had passed since the party and the hangover was huge. Everyone had passed out from too much alcohol and the entire place was a mess. In the middle of the floor were a drunk Shanks and Mihawk sleeping soundly next to each other, half naked.

Suddenly, Mihawk awoke and clutched his head. He soon realized what had happened and hit Shanks over the head, immediately waking him up.

"Eh-EH? What happened…." he said. When his vision returned to him, he saw Mihawk on his little coffin boat. Laughing, he waved to him.

"Come back soon! I promise you that it will be an even bigger party next time!"

Mihawk pretended to not hear him and continued growing more distant as he rode along the ocean. That was when Shanks slowly walked back and realized one thing missing:

the last bottles of sake.

Shanks' face was now as red as his hair as his voice shook everyone up from their slumber.

"HAWK EYES, GET BACK HERE WITH MY ALCOHOL!"

Mihawk slowly smirked and knew that the Red-Haired Pirates would come for him soon.

* * *

**Going Merry:**

Luffy sat on the Merry's head and kept looking for an island. Finally, he found the place he had been searching for in the far distance.

_'__Smokey, Tashigi, Buggy, Alvida... Dragon...'_ he added as an afterthought. _'I can't wait to see you all again.'_

When the Straw Hats had arrived at Loguetown, word got around very quickly. Rogue pirates would come out every now and then to challenge Luffy and get beaten to a pulp every time. Walking around town, the captain realized he got lost and his crew was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged.

"I have to find the execution platform, but I guess I have to find Smokey for that first." As if by magic, Smoker suddenly appeared around the corner and bumped into Luffy.

"Oh hi! Do you know where the execution platform is?" Luffy asked. Smoker just grunted as observed the person in front of him.

"Follow the smoke, kid." he replied and the smoke from his cigar suddenly extended and made a trail in the air. Luffy thanked him and followed.

_'Boy, I sure missed Smokey. He was persistent but funny at the same time.'_ he thought as he continued to follow the smoke trail.

Eventually as promised, the smoke stopped and in front of Luffy was the tall wooden execution platform where Gol D. Roger died. He smiled and began to climb up to the top of the platform. People began to notice the boy standing on the top of the execution platform and got worried.

The marines began noticing too.

"Hey, you there! Boy, get off the execution platform!" A marine officer shouted. Luffy just looked down at him.

"Why? I don't wanna!"

"You are standing on property of the World Government! I'll have to arrest yo-" He didn't get to finish his sentence before he was knocked out by an iron mace. There standing behind him was Alvida.

"Hey there, Straw Hat. It's been a while hasn't it?" she said looking lustfully at Luffy. The latter looked confused.

"Um. Who are you?" he asked with complete and utter honesty. Alvida nearly fell down comically.

"You can't tell me you forgot already!" she said losing her composure. She regained it back quickly though and cleared her throat.

"You can't have forgotten this pretty face could you? After all, you were the first man to ever hit me." She rubbed her belly. Luffy still stared at her with a blank face.

"Listen up, boys. Who is the most beautiful woman sailing the seas?"

"YOU ARE!" was the immediate reply. Something in Luffy's mind finally clicked.

"OH! You were the fat hag that forced Coby to be your cabin boy!" he said. Alvida gained a tick on her head.

"I'M NOT FA-"

"Stop right there! You are under arrest for attacking a marine officer!" a marine said as Alvida found herself surrounded. She only smiled and flicked her hair.

"Do you really want to hurt this pretty 'ol face?" she said and immediately all the marines around her dropped their weapons and formed hearts in their eyes along with huge goofy grins.

"We are sorry sir! She's just too beautiful!" they all said.

The marine officer was about to say something when an explosion scattered all of them. The fountain blew up and a piece of debris was flying towards Alvida when it suddenly slid right around her. Luffy then blinked and remembered Alvida's Smooth Smooth Fruit abilities. In the New World, Alvida joined his crew to try and get closer to him. Luckily, Hancock was there to stop any of her advances.

"Surprised, Luffy? I ate the Smooth Smooth Fruit. Now I'm even more beautiful even though the only thing it took away was my freckles."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"Well, anyways I'd love to stay here and chat, but I made a deal with these fine men you see. We had similar goals and decided to cooperate to get what we want."

Suddenly, hooded figures appeared behind Alvida. They took off their cloaks to reveal Buggy and his circus crew.

"MWAHAHAHAHA! Straw Hat! It is I, Buggy the Clown, here to kill you for sending me to an island far, far away! I landed with some of my body parts missing, but then looked around the island to find my trusty crew with my extra limbs! Together, we managed to survive for a few days and build a raft and blah blah blah blah…."

Luffy couldn't hear the rest as he fell asleep. The only thing that woke him up was an extremely high pitched shout.

"HEY STRAW HAT WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Huh? Oh yeah…Something about a raft." Buggy growled at him and sent his crew to capture the sleepy Luffy. He didn't even have time to realize that he was about to get killed right where Gol D. Roger was. Another yawn and Luffy blinked his eyes to get a better view.

His friends were looking at him in horror and fighting their way through the marines. Smokey was just looking at him in shock for not recognizing him sooner and looking to his right was Buggy smiling like a maniac with a sword over Luffy's neck.

"Any last words, Straw Hat?" Luffy just smiled.

"Yup!" He took in a deep breath as the sword was raised higher.

"ZORO, SANJI, USOPP, NAMI! SORRY, I'M DEAD!" he said.

Buggy's sword was about to make contact when suddenly, electricity crackled from the metal like a tesla rod and the entire execution platform was sent into flames from a lightning bolt. Buggy was fried while Luffy, being made of rubber, was left with only a couple dirt marks. He picked up his straw hat and ignored the looks of pure shock, surprise, and horror.

"Well, what do you know? I get to live after all! Hahaha!"

He then ran as fast as he could to his friends as they all escaped. Smoker then came up from behind Luffy to try and attack him, but he just dodged out of the way.

"Sorry, Smokey! Maybe next time!" he said with a grin and Gum Gum Rocketed to his ship. The marine was about to make chase but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking behind, he saw the face of the world's most wanted criminal, Dragon.

"Why are you stopping me, Dragon?" The criminal just smiled.

"Because it is useless to try and capture him. You are obviously no match for Luffy. Perhaps fate will smile upon you and your paths will meet again, but for now you can't even think of fighting him." After finishing his sentence, he was gone in a flash leaving Smoker to blink and growl in frustration.

Back on the ship, Luffy looked back and saw a cloaked figure with red tattoos on his face standing on one of the rooftops. He smiled. Oh how he missed his dad. Though, he preferred Shanks as a father figure than him. Dragon had teamed up with Luffy at the last second to fight off the marine's biggest onslaught. The result was bloody, but they reigned victorious in the end. To this day, Luffy still doesn't know much about his father.

He sighed and turned back to his crew. Next stop was the Grand Line. Luffy couldn't help the huge grin on his face as he sat on Merry's head through the storm.

"Finally….We're going…TO THE GRAND LINE!" he yelled with his two fists up in the air. His friends smiled up at him.

"We'll follow you to the ends of the earth, captain."

"Don't do anything TOO stupid from this point onward. I will charge you 10,000 beri each time."

"WAAAAH! Dad! I'm really going to be a brave warrior of the sea!"

"Looks like we really made it. NAMI-SWAN! I'll make you a delicious feast to celebrate!"

Luffy chuckled. The Grand Line was just ahead. Suddenly, the storm stopped abruptly and everything was calm. Nami was confused for a moment until she looked at the map again and her face turned to horror.

"N-No….Guys…WE'RE IN THE CALM BELT!" she exclaimed. Everyone just turned to her with confused expressions.

"YOU IDIOTS! THE CALM BELT IS A DANGEROUS PLACE CRAWLING WITH SEA KINGS! IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS PEOPLE DON'T MAKE IT TO THE GRAND LINE!" The deck then shifted as a sea king appeared right beside the ship, staring hungrily at it. Luffy just looked at it and smiled.

"Gum Gum Gatling!" he shouted as his fists punched the sea king multiple times till it ran away. Another sea king appeared from underneath the ship and pushed it into the air. It then, extended it's neck to eat everyone while they screamed and cried.

Luffy ran to the back of the ship and used Gum Gum Bazooka to punch the sea king away, and also giving a boost to the ship strong enough to fly over the entire Calm Belt. When Merry landed with a harsh 'plop' at the end, everyone pretty much fainted from the shock.

Everyone except Luffy. He sat on the figure head of Merry and saw the Red Line; a mountain with the water streaming upwards.

Nami had given Luffy a bonk to the head as the crew began to wake up from the trauma. Luffy smiled as the entire ship cruised up the trail. The captain laughed.

Doomed or not, the adventure was about to begin.

* * *

**Next Time:**

Luffy and his crew make it into the Grand Line! Up the Red Line they go, into the belly of Laboon, they go. Meeting familiar faces and the princess of Alabasta herself, Robin and

Crocodile won't even stand a chance against Luffy this time!

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

**DONE! Another chapter finished! I'm starting to get the hang of writing chapters quickly now! Though, I must be careful or else I might end up speeding through important parts and no one wants that! It's almost time for Whiskey Peak! Then Crocodile and Robin! I'll be sure to add Ace and Sabo in Alabasta next time!**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**


	9. Zoro's Secret Revealed

**Okay, I'm back! I'M SO SORRY I WAS ON A BIT OF A HIATUS! I might be getting a little bored of this story... However, I swore to never abandon it so I will keep that promise! I will try my best to at least! **

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

* * *

"Captain….I need to tell you something…" said Zoro.

Luffy's smile twitched a bit as Sanji's voice rang in his ears.

_'Listen to me! Your first mate could be a danger to the crew if this keeps happening! If he really is a demon, then it's best if you let him go.'_

He almost shook his head in front of his First Mate.

_'NO! Even if all my friends were monsters, I would never betray them!'_

Zoro sighed and reluctantly spoke.

"**I am a demon.**"

Luffy's heart nearly stopped as his breathing hitched. His smile now faded away and he couldn't mutter a word.

"Since…when?" he said. It wasn't a question, it was a demand. And Zoro had to comply.

"Since I was born. I was always different from other children and when I got too mad, I changed into my Asura form. Kids called me a monster when they saw me and ran away to their houses. I never really got to find out about my parents or family so I never had any actual parental guidance to stop me from picking a lot of fights. That was before I met Kuina and her father. She showed me that there were stronger people than I was and we made a promise to both strive to be the world's greatest swordsman."

He paused to consider if he should tell his captain more. Luffy saw his doubt and, even though he already knew about Zoro's past, nodded his head to usher him on.

"Then she died…" Luffy wanted to comfort him, but decided the best thing to do was to let him speak.

"I had never felt so lost and weak…I vowed from that day onward that I would fulfill her wish for her. To never be weak again. I had done well in suppressing my bloody desires because I kept thinking about getting stronger, but that all changed when I met you…."

The captain froze.

"You showed me that you were so much stronger than I was currently and it made me open my eyes. I guess I wanted to prove to you that I was strong as well so I started to rely on my Asura form." Luffy smiled a little and suddenly he was able to find his voice.

"Zoro, no matter what happens, no matter what people may call you, and no matter what you do," he stood up and placed a hand on his First Mate's shoulder. "I will always

consider you my friend."

Zoro smiled back and turned for the door.

"Thank you, Luffy. Even if you are sometimes an idiot, you'll always be my captain and I would follow you to the ends of the world."

And he left.

* * *

The Straw Hats had made it. The Grand Line. Luffy smiled.

_'My new adventure begins here. I will not lose anyone this time!'_ He thought about the decisions he had made that were different than when he first started…

Shank's arm?

_Saved._

Sabo's boat explosion?

_Didn't happen though I'm worried Sabo won't join the Revolutionary Army now._

Zoro being the demon Asura?

_I guess he always was a demon, even in the future but just never told us…Maybe he will win his fights easier._

Bigger Bounty?

_Not much will change, but I'm pretty sure the reactions to it were good! Shishishi!_

All these things done in a little amount of time.

_'And I looked awesome every second!'_ he added.

Suddenly a large noise shook him from his self-praising thoughts. Everyone looked up and saw a giant eye staring down at them.

Laboon. He forgot about Laboon.

"Oh sh-"

This time Luffy didn't have any time to react as the ship and its passengers were swallowed whole. They all kept falling until they landed in the middle of the whale's stomach which looked like the ocean with a sky and everything.

"Ow…What the-" Nami looked around and saw the 'scenery.' She woke everyone up with a punch to the head and made them look up.

"Hey, why aren't the clouds or birds moving?" Usopp asked.

"That's because I painted it." A new voice said.

Everyone turned to see an old man that looked like a flower and his house floating over the ocean. A few conversations later, the man revealed his name was Crocus and why Laboon was constantly hitting into the mountain.

Suddenly, two people climbed over the railing of the Going Merry.

"Halt!" Mr. 9 said.

"We're going to take down this whale!" 'Miss Wednesday' said.

Luffy rolled his eyes and laughed out loud at their scared faces as his crew mates completely outnumbered them. They shook their heads and proceeded to use a bazooka to try and kill the whale, but Luffy stood in the way and used his Gum Gum Pistol to grab the bazooka and throw it into the stomach acid. He then knocked them both out with a single light punch to the head.

"You dumb ass! Don't ever hit a lady!" Sanji yelled as he kicked Luffy in the head who was laughing, not harmed at all.

Tying the two unconscious people up, the captain left Nami to interrogating them. Luffy looked around for a bit until he finally found the hatch that would bring them all outside. There, they rested on an island near the Red Line.

Mr. 9 and Vivi were begging Nami for their Log Pose back, Zoro was sleeping, Sanji was cooking a delicious feast for his two women, Usopp was making some new concoctions for his sniping attacks, and Luffy was fighting Laboon until he got tired and painted a deformed jolly roger on his head to stop Laboon from trying to kill himself.

"Oh my sweet Nami-swan and Miss Wednesday-san! Your lunch is ready!" Sanji called with hearts in his eyes. Nami hit him in the head.

"You idiot! She's our hostage! Don't feed her anything!" she yelled. Luffy immediately ran over and began to eat everything.

"Mmmmm! Sanji this is great!" Said man kicked Luffy in the head.

"That's for Nami-swan you idiot captain!"

"Sanji…" Nami muttered in a creepy way. The two looked in her hand and saw that the wind from Sanji's kick broke the Log Pose. He sweat dropped.

"N-Nami-swan! I didn't mean to do that!" But Nami didn't hear him and knocked him into the ground with a couple punches.

She then turned to Luffy who was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

_'Waaaahhh... Nami's scary! Maybe I should act serious to scare her back! Shishishi!'_

Just as she was about to punch him, Luffy stopped the punch with his hand. She looked at him with widened eyes.

"Nami," he said in a serious tone. "Don't be so childish over an accident. Crocus has another one so don't try to hit me again or I will consider it mutiny." he said as he let go of her fist. He looked to Sanji who was staring at him in shock.

With that, he walked over to Crocus and asked for his Log Pose to which he silently handed over.

Luffy turned back to his crew who were staring at him in a massive combination of fear, shock, and surprise.

"What?" he said. Then he slowly started to realize and began laughing.

"Shishishi! You guys actually bought my joke? I guess it worked a little too well don't you think? Hahahaha!" The others blinked and blinked. Then Mr. 9 decided to break the silence.

"Um, could you please take us to Whiskey Peak?" he asked. Luffy turned to him and Mr. 9 immediatley shut his mouth.

"Whiskey Peak? Hmm, where have I heard the name before?" Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 began to sweat drop.

_'__Oh no, he's onto us!'_ they both thought.

"Hmmm... Ok yeah, never heard of it." he said in a fake confused tone. Everyone fell down comically.

"You idiot!" they all said at once. Moments later, Luffy waved Laboon goodbye and promised to have a rematch with him when he returned. He then turned to Nami and told her that the Log Pose should be pointing towards Whiskey Peak. They all yelled goodbye to Crocus and Laboon as the Going Merry sailed away.

"Heheh them youngsters. But why do I get the feeling that I've met that straw hatted one before?" He paused to think, but found nothing.

"It's probably the fact he looks so much like him is all." Crocus looked up at the sky and sighed.

"Isn't that right, Roger?"

* * *

**Next Time: **

Luffy, his crew, and his brand new hostages, finally reach Whiskey Peak where they are spoiled rotten by the suspicious inhabitants of the island! Of course our captain won't fall for their tricks again! Maybe... Zoro sees through the facade, however, and a battle takes place! Will Luffy fight Zoro this time? No, probably not. Also, the princess of Alabasta makes her appearance. Luffy knows exactly what to do to help her and this time, nothing will stop his will to protect his friends!

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

**Ugh, why does this chapter have to look so short?! Anyways, I'm glad this was finally made! The 'Luffy is very serious' part was something I was hoping for him to say to Nami every time she hit him. I mean he is my favorite character and I really hate bitchy-girls-that-always-hit-the-main-character stereotypes. I don't hate her for it though, because it's still funny! I just wish Luffy would gain some backbone and talk back to her because she seems to be stronger than Luffy in those comical scenes, but in reality she's much weaker than him. Even more so in this fic. Also, I hope you all liked the Demon!Zoro scene. Zoro finally gained the courage to tell Luffy his secret!**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**


	10. Whiskey Peak Battle and Revisiting Robin

**So...**

**Before we begin, I am so terribly sorry to all of the people who waited for the next update... I had a lot of things going on such as school, summer camps, etc. Also, I almost lost complete interest in the story at one point. Nevertheless, I got back into it in order to make all of you proud. The main thing that prevented me from continuing this is League of Legends XD. I play that thing every day and I lose track of time (I never get any better) :X. Add me if you want since I'm almost ALWAYS online and the most active there. Message me if you want for anything you want to happen in this story such as pairings. Since I'm keeping Luffy asexual here like in the anime/manga, I'll always have him oblivious to affection, but I guess I can make cute moments too. Idk I'll see about that. Anyways, I went back to my previous chapters and improved some things/took some things out. See if you can tell which :D As Always...**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**

**Summoner name: Grand Celestia**

* * *

"It's an island!" Luffy said.

Everyone glanced over to where the captain was pointing and, as if by magic, the fog began to slightly raise revealing a large, misshapen silhouette. As the Going Merry cruised closer, the Straw Hat crew, as well as their captives, could see that Luffy was telling the truth. The land was covered in abnormally sized cacti of various proportions.

"So this is Whiskey Peak…" Sanji murmured. "It's a really funny looking island."

'_Wait till you meet their inhabitants.'_ Luffy thought.

He smiled a bit as he remembered his crewmates' interaction with the welcoming denizens and how they all slowly passed out from partying too hard. That glowing grin faltered a bit as Mr. 9's mocking voice spoke.

"Well then, we'll be leaving now." he said with a smirk.

When the crew looked over, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were crouching on the edge of their ship.

"Thanks for taking care of us, honeys."

"If we're linked by fate, we'll meet again!"

'_You have no idea..' _Luffy chuckled.

"Bye bye, baby!"

With those parting words, the two agents leapt backwards into a flip and plunged into the ocean only to quickly swim towards the island.

"They're gone…" Nami whispered.

"Who on earth were they?" Usopp asked.

'_Better question is why no one stopped them…'_ Luffy thought. He glanced back at Whiskey Peak and saw that they were nearing at a rapid pace.

"It doesn't matter! We're landing!"

* * *

Once the Going Merry had finally landed, the crew, excluding the captain, were surprised to find that the inhabitants were incredibly welcoming instead of hostile towards the pirates. A tall man with three giant curls in his hair introduced himself as Igaram, the mayor of the little town. He approached them with a smile and offered to celebrate their arrival with a grand party. Despite knowing that it was a trap, Luffy accepted the proposal since his crewmates needed a break after everything they've been through. The crew drank, ate, and laughed to their heart's content until eventually they slowly passed out from exhaustion, one by one.

**That night…. **

"So they wore themselves out partying and fell asleep.. Sleep tight, adventurers." Igaram mused. He slowly turned to look up at the moon. "Again, the Cactus Rocks look beautiful tonight, dancing under the moonlight."

"You're such a poet, Igaram, no, Mr. 8."

Said man kept gazing at the moon as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday jumped off the roof of the house they were perched upon.

"What happened to them?" Miss Wednesday asked.

"They've fallen…" Mr. 8 turned to address them. "to hell."

Just then, the door to the room where the party was held opened to reveal the nun who drank against Nami.

"Jeez, since they were stubborn I added a little bit of alcohol to their drinks. If I hadn't, they would still be up and having a good time." She paused to remove her robe. "But was it really necessary to put up this act just for five weak looking brats?"

"Calm down, Miss Monday. Look at this, I checked them out beforehand." Mr. 8 pulled out a bounty poster for a certain straw hat wearing pirate.

"One hun-One hundred million berries?! Ehhh?!" The three agents gawked in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so. It's very foolish to judge a pirate based on their looks Miss Mon.. *cough* Ma-ma-ma.. Miss Monday." Igaram chided.

"S-Sorry." she said.

"But anyways," he continued. "We have already settled so now we can send a report to the boss. Confiscate all of their money and goods from their ship immediately. As for them…" Mr. 8 paused, leaving the agents in an ominous silence.

"Capture them, alive if you can!" he commanded.

"**Hey, sorry but…**" The three agents quickly looked behind them to see Roronoa Zoro sitting cross legged on the house near them. "Do you mind leaving them alone?They're all exhausted from the journey this afternoon." he finished.

"You bastard… I thought you were completely asleep!" Mr. 8 yelled with a sweatdrop of worry.

"Swordsmen never make the mistake of letting their guard down too much…" Zoro smirked. He looked down at the arriving, armed citizens. "So, let me get this straight. This is a nest of bounty hunters. You fool pirates who are in high spirits after entering the Grand Line." He slowly got up and examined his opponents.

"A hundred of you, huh? I'll fight you all… **Baroque Works**."

"H-How do you know our company's name?!" Mr. 8 demanded. By now, all of the present Baroque agents were quaking in fear at the demon glaring down at them.

"When I used to be a bounty hunter myself, I was recruited by your company once." he spoke. "Naturally, I rejected it."

"Humph. I see… We can't leave you alive then." Mr. 8 said slowly. "Kill him!" He commanded while pointing at Zoro. Suddenly, the swordsman disappeared…

_...only to reappear in the midst of the shocked crowd. _

"Heheh.. **Shall we?**" he said with a menacing grin.

* * *

"Uhhh… Where am I?" Luffy murmured. He yawned and blinked repeatedly to adjust his vision as he stood up. Which wasn't an easy feat considering how bloated his belly was. He looked down at his body and sighed.

'_Shoot, I overslept and ate too much like last time. I guess some things are out of my control.'_ Luffy thought. He needed to digest the food he ate quickly or it would greatly hinder his performance in battle. An explosion cut off his train of thought.

"Augh! I cut his booger!" Zoro screamed in disgust. Luffy smiled and ran towards the origin of the yell.

"Zoro!" At once, everyone glanced towards the Straw Hat captain. Luffy slowed down to observe the scene before him: Vivi was on her giant pet duck, Carue, behind Zoro and in front of them were the two Baroque agents Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

'_Booger flicker and lemon lady.'_ Luffy sighed. They needed to beat the two Baroque agents quickly before Vivi gets even more injured. He looked at Zoro.

"Oi, Zoro. You ready?" Luffy said while taking a fighting stance. His first mate smirked and mirrored his stance.

"Che, I didn't need your help. But this will be easier." Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine glanced between the two in confusion. Suddenly, Luffy disappeared and reappeared in front of Mr. 5, catching him off-guard. He then pulled back a fist and let loose a merciless Gum Gum Pistol onto the bomb-man's stomach. The force sent the agent hurling into a stack of crates as a reddish blur. Miss Valentine could only watch in horror as her colleague lay unmoving with a bloody face and a blank-eyed gaze.

"He's not dead by the way, he's just knocked out." Luffy said quickly.

"Shame." Zoro scoffed. He began to run towards the petrified Miss Valentine until she snapped out of her stupor before he could get too close. Panicked, the Kilo Kilo human jumped high into the air and began to gradually drift higher using her devil fruit ability as well as her parasol.

"Grrr, I'll teach you not to mess with me! Take this! 10,000 Kilogram Press!" she exclaimed before rapidly plummeting down towards Zoro. He simply turned and let her plunge straight into the ground next to him, creating a crater.

"Hey Luffy, next time let me handle these battles on my own." Zoro said as he stared at Miss Valentine with a deadpan expression. "These guys are embarrassments." He couldn't bear to look anymore when she began to struggle to get unstuck out of the ground.

"Luffy! Zoro!" They turned to look at an approaching Nami. "Oh! Princess Vivi, you're alright!"

"Thanks to these two." Vivi gestured towards the captain and his first mate.

"Let's get you somewhere safe." Nami said. Eventually, the four hid behind a couple houses and discussed what to do from there. Luffy grinned as his belly finally digested and returned his body to normal size.

"Ahh, feels good to be fit again!" he said while stretching out his arms. Nami rolled her eyes.

"Just don't eat as much, idiot!"

* * *

Vivi sighed after revealing Baroque Works' plan to take over the Alabasta Kingdom. She looked up at the pirates.

"Guys, I'm grateful for your help, but your lives will be put in danger as well. As strong as you may be, you'd never stand a chance against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!"

_Silence._

"Who?" Zoro asked. Nami stared in horror at Vivi and then violently began to shake her.

"Why would you say that?! Now we are all going to be killed!" She yelled while crying in a comedic fashion. Nami abruptly stopped once she heard the sound of something landing on the roof near them. She slowly turned to see that there was an otter and a vulture wearing shades, looking down at them. Nami began to walk out.

"Well, it was nice knowing you guys, but I value my life! You're on your own!" she said. The otter stopped her in her tracks with well-drawn sketched portraits of the three present Straw Hat members.

"Wow! That's so good!" Nami clapped while the otter bowed in return. Immediately as she turned to her friends, she regained her crying expression.

"Now there is nowhere to run!" Vivi tried to comfort her, but the damage had been done.

Luffy sweatdropped. _'I will never understand women.'_

* * *

Vivi could only stare blankly at the flaming remains of the ship her companion was on just a moment ago. She chewed on her lip hard enough to draw blood. The straw hat covered Luffy's eyes as he ran to wake Usopp and Sanji. He already knew Igaram would survive. This could only mean one thing…

'_Robin...welcome back.'_

After searching for Carue and getting everyone on board, the Going Merry set sail. Luffy waited expectantly for Robin to show up on their ship.

"It's good we finally managed to escape the people chasing us!" said a smooth voice.

"That's for sure!" Nami said. _'Right on time!'_ Luffy smirked.

"We need to make sure we don't crash the ship into the rocks." continued the voice.

"Just leave it to me!" Nami boasted.

More silence ensued…

"Hey, Luffy.. Is that you speaking?" she asked. "Nope." came the reply. Nami slowly turned around with growing dread.

"This is a nice ship."

Everyone immediately turned around towards the stranger. Vivi gasped.

"Miss All Sunday?!" she exclaimed. Nami looked at the princess.

"What number is she partnered to?" she asked. Vivi gulped before responding.

"She's the partner of Mr. 0... the boss of Baroque Works!"

"Eh?! Crocodile?!"

Luffy stared at Robin as she smiled back at him. Suddenly, she grabbed his hat using her devil fruit powers.

"So you're the infamous captain of the Straw Hat pirates. Monkey _D._ Luffy…" she said putting an emphasis on D. Luffy frowned in annoyance.

"Oi, gimme my hat back!" he demanded. Robin merely continued smiling and put the straw hat on top of her own.

"How unlucky. A wanted princess being protected by a mere handful of pirates... But what's even unluckier is the course your Log Pose indicates. The name of the next island is Little Garden." she said in a patient tone. "You will be wiped out before you can reach Alabasta. Don't you think letting your adventure end so soon is a bit foolish?" she said while throwing an Eternal Log Pose to Vivi and returning Luffy's trademark straw hat. Vivi looked at the item in suspicion.

"With that, you will be able to skip past Little Garden. It is the safest way to reach Alabasta-" Luffy cut off Robin abruptly by grabbing the gift and crushing it in his left hand. He looked up at her while dodging a swift kick from Nami.

"There's no need. No matter what you throw at us, we'll be ready to fight back." he said.

'_Besides I need to revisit Dorry and Broggy and prevent their fight from being interrupted.'_

Robin's calculating gaze seemed to see right through the captain. Finally, she spoke.

"I see. That's too bad." she said as she got up. "I don't hate high-spirited people." Robin looked back and smiled for the final time at Luffy.

"If you survive, let's meet again." He grinned widely.

"I look forward to it,_ Robin_!" Luffy immediately froze and covered his mouth. He glanced up at Robin to see she was staring at him even more intently in shock and confusion. With a sweat drop, the captain turned around.

"Till we meet again…" he said as he walked away._ 'I'll explain the next time we meet.' _As if reading Luffy's thoughts, Robin nodded, jumped onto her giant turtle, and rode away. The remaining members of the Going Merry stared in bewilderment at the interaction. Zoro gazed at his captain with a suspicious look, but chose to say nothing. Meanwhile, Luffy was nearly having a heart attack at his crucial mistake._ 'How could I say that?! I had one job and I screwed it up!' _he kept repeating in his mind. The crew eventually dropped the subject in order to lessen the tension in the air.

"For now, it looks like our destination is set." Zoro said as he got ready to take a nap. Sanji puffed a wisp of smoke. "Little Garden, huh?" he said.

"W-Will we really be alright there?" Usopp asked with worry. Luffy looked back at his crew and grinned slightly, trepidation dissipating.

"Who knows! I can't wait!"

* * *

**Next Time:**

The Straw Hat crew make their way to Little Garden, where the two giants Dorry and Broggy lurk. More Baroque agents show up as well as the return of two recently beaten up ones. Will Luffy's crew be put in danger of becoming candle statues? Or will Luffy fall victim to Miss Goldenweek's power? Also, how long will the pirate king's secret last? Not long if he keeps making slip-ups...

TO BE CONTINUED...

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**This chapter took me around 8 hours in total... I had to go back to check for any errors and look at moments from the anime. I made it long in hopes that you guys forgive me for the 2.. year.. hiatus... Eheh... :F Don't give up hope on me yet! Throughout those years, I have always been reading your reviews and I jumped with joy whenever I got a new Favorite or Follow! I love every single one of you guys! Thank you for being with me up until now!**

**Fav, Follow, Review, and Enjoy! X3**


	11. Little Garden, Big Mistake

**Hey, guys! I'm back! This chapter was very long as I had to revise and redo many things. I've been trying to make sure that sentences don't seem too redundant. School has been giving me a hard time too... **

**As always, Fav, Follow, Review, and **

**Enjoy! X3**

* * *

"So this is Little Garden!" Luffy said as the Going Merry cruised along the river. Opposed to its name, the island itself hosted a variety of flora and fauna of abnormally large proportions. The captain directed his wandering gaze towards the lush jungle that surrounded the ship and felt the same excitement from when he last visited the place. _'It's been years since I last came here. Usopp wanted to backtrack to this island in order to tell Dorry and Broggy of his adventures in the New World.' _Luffy thought. He remembered their conversation like it was yesterday: Usopp was grinning widely as he told his story, using hand movements to emphasize certain points. The crew along with the giants were relaxing nearby and silently listened to the sniper. Even though it was clear Usopp had changed the story to improve his image, such as saying his opponents cowered at his sight when in reality it was the exact opposite, the rest of the crew respectfully allowed their friend to speak without any interruptions. Luffy remembered how they all laughed and grinned at Usopp's far-fetched tales and he felt a slight yearning to see his original crew again. He shook his head at the thought, however. _'I can't be feeling homesick like this. I've got to stay strong. I can't let Ace die again…' _He then turned towards his current crew members and laughed once he saw Nami and Usopp's terrified looks towards the giant dinosaur bird that nearly grabbed Sanji. _'Besides, my friends will always act the same.'_ He added as an afterthought.

"Yosh, I smell adventure!"

* * *

**One trip through the mouth of a dinosaur later…**

"Gegyagyagyagya!" Dorry laughed with glee as he conversed with a certain Straw Hat pirate.

"Mmmm! This is delicious, giant old guy!" Luffy said as he took another bite into his dinosaur meat.

"Your pirate lunch thing is good too, although it is a bit too small." the giant responded.

"Of course it's good!" Another bite. "That's a special lunch the chef of my pirate crew made!" Luffy huffed. "If you say it's bad, I'll beat you up!"

"Beat me up, you say?" Dorry said. At that, Vivi and Carue both looked up at the giant in fear, thinking he got offended. This doubt disappeared instantly once he started laughing again.

"Gegyagyagyagya! What a funny squirt you are!" Dorry said as he slapped his knee while he continued to guffaw.

"They're becoming incredibly friendly…" Vivi murmured to herself.

"Hey so how long have you been on this island, old guy?" Luffy asked despite already knowing the answer. Dorry smiled at that.

"I've been here for 100 years now!" he said with pride. Vivi and Carue gasped in shock.

"100 years?! No way! Why?!" Vivi asked.

"Because I have been fighting with the other giant of this island during those years in a duel to the death." he said. Vivi continued to stare at the giant in horror while Luffy smiled.

"Surely you can't have so much hate as to fight for so many years!" she said. Just then, the central volcano erupted causing Dorry to look up.

"Ah, that's the signal for our duel to start." he said as he rose from his seat and grabbed his sword. "And It's not because we hate each other that we fight, it's because of our pride."

"But, what on earth caused this fight to begin with?!" Vivi continued to ask. At that, the giant grinned widely. "I forgot..." he began as he ran towards the other giant charging towards him. "The reason a long time ago!" And the two clashed causing a series of tremors that shook the entire island.

* * *

**After the brief fight…**

"Gegyagyagyagya! I see. Broggy's guests are your friends, huh? I saw a man with a long nose as well as a woman with orange hair." he said.

"That's Usopp and Nami!" Luffy exclaimed with glee. "Hah! They said they would wait on the ship, but I knew they couldn't resist the thrill of adventure!"

"By the way, Dorry… Does it really take a year for the Log to set on this island?" Vivi asked.

"Didn't you notice the human skulls scattered about?" the giant said. "Most humans who come to this island waiting for their Log to be stored die before it finishes. Some become dinosaur food, some die of the heat and starvation, some die because they attack us. It seems that one year here is too much for humans."

"Nah, I'd get too bored staying here. We'll just leave before the Log is set and get there if we're lucky." Luffy said and began to laugh.

"Gegyagyagya! Maybe you will!" Dorry responded and laughed along. Meanwhile, Vivi sat there unable to understand what was funny about their situation.

"I will never understand men…" she said. After his laughter finally faded, the giant picked up a sake barrel and raised it to his lips. At that moment, Luffy remembered the rest of the events that were about to take place on the island. _'No! The sabotage!'_

"Stop! Don't drink that!" he yelled. Dorry looked at him in confusion, but did what he said.

"Eh? What's wrong with it?" the giant asked. Luffy grabbed the barrel and picked up a fairly large stone, one that fit into his palm. He then threw the barrel high into the air. Taking aim at the barrel, Luffy then hurled the stone at it with enough force to make it hit its mark almost immediately. The stone shot right at the wooden object in the sky and the collision triggered the bomb inside causing an explosion that shocked the three spectators. Dorry snapped out of his confusion first.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" he bellowed. Luffy looked back at him and frowned.

"There are people here for you and the other giant's bounty. They want me and my crewmates dead too." he said.

"I SHALL FIND AND CRUSH THEM FOR TRYING TO RUIN A SACRED DUEL!" he yelled. Once he finished his sentence, the central volcano erupted again. Dorry sighed, but got up nonetheless.

"You two, for the sake of honor, please don't let anyone interrupt our duel." he said. Luffy and Vivi smiled up at him.

"We promise." they said in unison. The bearded giant nodded, then set off. He began to speak as he approached Broggy.

"Before we begin, I must warn you that a group of malicious humans are on this island and have attempted to weaken me through a faulty sake barrel." At this, Broggy became angered and a dark glare settled on his face.

"HOW LOW OF THOSE PATHETIC HUMANS TO EVEN ATTEMPT SOMETHING SO DISHONORABLE!" he roared, but then sighed deeply and got into a fighting stance. "I'm sorry, old friend, but there is nothing we can do for now. Our fight must continue!" With that, Dorry charged at Broggy with his sword up and the battle commenced. Luffy and Vivi watched the fight closely while simultaneously surveilling the area. As the fight dragged on, Luffy waited knowing that Mr. 3 and the other Baroque agents would attack at any moment. Eventually, the fight went on for so long that Dorry and Broggy had to balance themselves on one knee to the ground in order to keep standing. Then they smiled, gave some taunting comments and continued, albeit with much slower movements. Suddenly, out of the forest came a massive streak of white that latched onto the two giants.

"WHAT THE-" they both said before the white wax completely encased their bodies and secured them to the ground. That was Luffy's cue. He was about to dash off to fight them, but an explosion stopped him in his tracks. He looked to the right to see a smirking Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 holding Carue. _'Dammit, I didn't notice but Carue ran off in fear of the fight.'_ Luffy thought.

"Hahaha! Did you really think you could escape Baroque Works?" Miss Valentine said.

"Honestly, yeah. Your agents have posed no threats to me so far." Luffy deadpanned. At that, the two agents both sweatdropped. Mr. 5 then got a tick mark on his forehead.

"Last time, we were caught off guard! This time, I'll kill you!" he said. "Nose Fancy Cannon!"

Luffy and Vivi both dodged the explosive booger and landed a safe distance away from the agents. Suddenly, they heard a scream from the forest that got louder as it neared.

"AAAAAAAAAAAUGHHH! LUFFY! LUFFY! LUFFYYYYYYYY! NAMI GOT EATEN BY A DINOSA- Huh?" It was definitely Usopp. He stopped running once he saw Miss Valentine and Mr. 5. He then began to run in the opposite direction.

"Usopp, help us!" Vivi said. Luffy just facepalmed and sent out a Gum Gum Pistol towards his cowardly crewmember. Once his hand latched onto the back of Usopp's apparel, he quickly dragged him back. The captain stared at his sniper and, knowing there was no escaping, Usopp hesitantly got out his slingshot. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine smirked at the pathetic sight.

"Here, how about a trade. We will give you your mutant bird if you give us the princess." Mr. 5 said shaking the poor duck in front of them. Carue squealed and Vivi couldn't help but get teary-eyed. Luffy watched patiently until something white in the distance caught his attention. It had several lit candles on top of it and it was spinnin-

"MY FRIENDS!" he yelled in anger. He remembered what Mr. 3's weird wax thing did to his crewmates and knew that he had wasted too much time. With a roar, the pirate king sent both of his fists back and shot them at the two startled agents. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine tried to dodge the deadly punch, but they reacted too late and were sent flying at mach speed into the forest. Luckily, Mr. 5 let go of Carue in shock before the duck could be knocked away as well. Once Carue ran back to Vivi, Luffy sprinted towards the candle contraption with his friends behind him. Meanwhile, Mr. 3 was laughing at his trapped victims with Miss Goldenweek drinking tea nearby. He was about to taunt them once more when a haki-infused fist shot at his side from afar. The impact knocked him off of his feet and made him crash into Dorry's arm. Miss Goldenweek blankly glanced at her partner, who was curled up into a ball to nurse his wounded torso.

"Luffy!" Nami yelled. Said captain had just arrived to the scene with Usopp, Vivi, and Carue. Zoro simply grunted.

"We didn't really need your help, captain." he said. Luffy sighed in relief knowing they weren't candle figurines yet. He told Usopp and Vivi to try to free the giants and then walked towards his trapped crewmates.

"Luffy, please help us! The wax is making it hard to breathe." said Nami.

But then Luffy stopped. He looked at Nami in indifference.

"No, I don't feel like it." Nami looked at him in shock while Zoro was staring at something underneath his captain's feet. In Luffy's mind he was panicking at his critical mistake. _'Oh no... Don't tell me….'_ he thought. He looked down at his feet and saw the black painted symbol.

'_Crap! I got caught in Miss Goldenweek's paint spell!'_

"Colors Trap." the little girl said in a monotone voice. Luffy grit his teeth in frustration as he struggled to break free, his body twitching occasionally. An explosion followed by a high pitched scream then echoed through the area. When Luffy turned around, Vivi was being strangled by a badly bruised Mr. 5 and Usopp was slowly getting the life crushed out of him by a bleeding Miss Valentine. Carue had been the victim of the recent explosion as evident by his smoking, unmoving form. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine then both smiled at the trapped captain despite their hideous injuries.

"Hahaaa…. *cough* Whath are you goin thoo do now Sthwah Hath?" Mr. 5 said through his swollen cheek. He then applied more pressure to Vivi's neck and soon she began to lose consciousness. The ground beneath Usopp began to crack as he started coughing up blood.

'_No….nononononono NO!'_

"Well done, agents! Now we have both the princess and Straw Hat captain to take to the boss! I deserve most of the credit, of course, since I captured almost everyone here." Mr. 3 said as he limped next to his partner, Miss Goldenweek. Deep down, she somewhat wished her arrogant partner had died from the first blow.

Zoro brought his sword up in a heroic pose as he and Nami's bodies slowly froze from the wax. The giant white patches of white made them look as if they had horrendous Amber Lead poisoning. Luffy sweat profusely as he desperately fought to regain control of his body.

'_Please….Oh god please, I can't lose them…'_

He screwed up his second chance. His friends would die early because he let his guard down for one second. Tears started to form in his eyes.

"Luffy." The pirate king looked up at his first mate.

"Are you really going to let these guys beat you? After everything I've seen you do, losing here and now would be beyond pathetic." Luffy blinked up at Zoro in confusion and the swordsman smirked.

"**Don't let them break your will, Pirate King.**"

That did it.

With a battle roar, Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs and let loose a devastating wave of Conqueror's Haki that engulfed the entire island in a dome of transparent aura. Time itself seemed to stop and in seconds all weak-willed beings in Little Garden were rendered unconscious due to the overwhelming pressure. That included the Baroque Works agents. Luffy's friends watched in horror/fascination as one by one their captors fell to the ground like flies and each of them held their own reactions to the incredible phenomenon.

Zoro grit his teeth and sweatdropped from the intensity.

Nami felt weak and fought to stay awake, but passed out anyways.

Usopp was immediately knocked out cold.

Vivi collapsed soon after due to both the haki and recent strangulation.

The giants lay unmoving (they didn't have a choice since they were still immobilized in wax) and shivered.

Once Luffy's screaming stopped and the effects dispersed, the ones who remained awake let out the breath they were holding in. Luffy glanced down at the paint symbol and stepped off of it with ease. _'Woah, did my will overcome the girl's power? Cool!'_ he thought. He then looked up at the now still pumpkin candle contraption and stretched a fist back.

"This piece of shit...Causing me so much stress…" Luffy muttered before he punched the wax pumpkin to pieces. He then proceeded to smash the rest of the white wax and in the process freed Zoro and Nami, who had just regained consciousness. Usopp woke up and helped Vivi care for Carue. Eventually, everyone was freed and throughout the entire procedure, no one but Luffy uttered a word. Finally, the pirate king couldn't take the silence anymore and decided to address what they were all thinking:_ 'What the hell was that?!'_

"So, you're probably all thinking what I just did..." he said. His friends stared at him and a couple nodded. "That was a form of Haki. Not just any Haki, Conqueror's Haki. Only one in several million people can have it." Usopp decided to speak up. "W-What is Haki?" he timidly asked.

"It is a power that every living being has. It can be used to sense another's presence, turn your spirit into armor, and overpower the wills of enemies. You can guess which one I used." he said. His audience stared at him in amazement and he grinned.

"Don't worry, guys! It's a weird topic, but you'll learn it eventually!" At that moment, a voice called out from the forest.

"Nami-chwan! Vivi-swan! And the other insects..." he said, muttering the last part to himself.

"Oh, Sanji! There you are! Shishishishi!" Luffy said. Usopp and Carue got tick marks on their foreheads.

"That jerk! Showing up only after we needed his help…" he seethed. Sanji ignored them and casually walked up to Nami with hearts in his eyes.

"Wooooooah, Nami-swan! You look beautiful today!" he swooned. Nami simply glared at him.

"Sanji, what were you doing while we were risking our lives?!" she yelled. The cook snapped out of his stupor and looked at her in realization.

"Oh! I pretended to be Mr. 3 while talking to Mr. 0 and I told him we were dead." Sanji said. Vivi gasped in shock.

"You were talking to the boss?!"

"Yeah, and I got us this." He then pulled out an Eternal Pose from his pocket. At that, everyone stared at him with their jaws hanging open in a comedic fashion.

"Yahooo! Sanji, nice going! Now we can set sail for Alabasta!" Luffy said.

* * *

**A few moments later…**

"Set sail!" Luffy said. With that, the anchor was hoisted and the Going Merry finally began to move at a quick pace.

"If we keep going straight, we should make it to the western end of the island." Nami said.

"Hey! It's the old giants! They've come to see us off!" Luffy yelled. He pointed to Dorry and Broggy who were standing on opposite sides of the path that lead into the open ocean.

"Up ahead is a great obstacle.." Broggy said. "That prevents those who come to this island from reaching the next.." Dorry continued.

"You fought desperately to save our pride, so trust in us and keep going straight ahead no matter what!" They both shouted.

"Yosh! Will do!" Luffy said. Suddenly, as the ship sailed past the exit of Little Garden, a huge ripple in the water appeared. Dorry and Broggy grinned.

"There you are, Island-Eater." Dorry said. "In the name of Elbaf, you shall let them pass!" The other giant continued. Once the colossal goldfish revealed itself, the giants' weapons began to glow red and blue respectively.

"A g-giant goldfish?! Why does that sound familiar.." Usopp muttered. The monster's mouth opened wide and surrounded the Going Merry.

"Just keep going straight, guys! I believe in Dorry and Broggy." Luffy said fearlessly.

Eventually, the fish slowly closed its mouth and encompassed the ship in darkness.

"Keep going straight!" Luffy ordered. Nami, Usopp, Vivi, and Carue were panicking with tears in their eyes. All of a sudden, a large blast of light shot right past the Going Merry with an explosion following soon after. In a flash, the darkness dissipated and the ship was thrown right back onto the sunny seas.

"Hakoku Sovereignty!" The giants from Elbaf yelled. The monstrous attack tore right through the stomach of the goldfish and left a massive hole in its wake.

"Shishishi! Onto the next island!" Luffy said, but then he remembered something important. He turned around to look at Nami, who was clutching her side in pain. They needed to get to Drum Island for their doctor and fast.

'_Chopper, we're on our way!'_

* * *

**Next Time:**

It's a race against time as the Straw Hat crew stop at Drum Island to save their navigator. They also reunite with their adorable soon-to-be doctor, Chopper. Luffy's not off the hook yet, though. The more the pirate king is pushed into a corner, the more secrets and slip ups spill out. Will Luffy tell his crew the truth? Or leave them to ponder his true strength?

To be continued...

* * *

**_Okay, so for the Conqueror's Haki moment you're probably wondering how Luffy pulled it off. Well, on the One Piece wiki it said that Miss Goldenweek's power can be overcome by one with a strong will/mind. Since the Luffy in my story is wizened through experience, I supposed that it would be enough to break free from her control. I will start working on the next chapter sometime next week! See you guys next time! :3_**


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